Lehigh Valley entrepreneurs demonstrated the innovative concepts they are developing during recent pitch competitions.
The competitions were held by Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Lafayette College, and Lehigh University. They all participate in the Entrepreneurship Council of the Lehigh Valley of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC), which brings together partners to develop strategies to support entrepreneurism.
Big Idea Pitch Competition, Lafayette College
Lafayette’s Dyer Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship held its annual student Big Idea Pitch Competition on April 10.
Locava, by Judson Dunne, Will Gottfried, and Ethan Melgar, won first place and a $1,500 cash prize for their travel-centric social media app.
Flipflap, by Larry Shore and Lizzy Quilty, won second place ($1,000) and the audience choice award ($200) for their fantasy sports app.
Karoka, by Landy Rakotoarison and Malala Rasoamanana, won third place for their online game designed to teach coding and programming.
Also competing was UPDining, by Tuna Akin and Efe Çivisöken, a livestream of the dining halls’ food offerings that aims to help students make better choices, reducing food waste and saving money for the food provider.
Innovate! Celebrate!, Lehigh University
Lehigh University's Office of Entrepreneurship held its annual Innovate! Celebrate! student pitch competition and awards dinner on April 29.
Qlover, by Cedrique Wafula, won the Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 Eureka! Grand Prize of $5,000. Qlover is a fintech platform that extends bank-grade credit to underserved farmers. It has a 98% repayment rate.
Also competing were:
Screenwise Eating, by Canaan Kimball, a feeding therapy app supporting children with ADHD and autism.
Aural World, by Jere Andrews, a language learning tool designed to help older adults connect with fellow learners.
Other award winners were:
Research Translation Trailblazer Award: Neal Simon, Professor, Biological Sciences
The Entrepreneurship & Innovation Faculty Achievement Award: Vinod Namboodiri, Professor and Forlenza Chair in Health Innovation and Technology
Research Translation Progress Award: Rosa Zheng, Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
The John B. Ochs Teaching Award: Burak Eskici, Teaching Assistant Professor 
Donald E. Flinchbaugh Memorial Endowed Scholarship: student Thaksheel Alleck
R.K. Laros Foundation Endowed Prize for Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation: students Tawheeda Huq and Marcus Smith
Davis Projects for Peace Prize: AI Strengthening Healthcare Access (AISHA) with Faculty mentor Eric Obeysekare, Teaching Assistant Professor, and students Juliana Magarelli, Vrushti Patel, Natalie Kam, Simone Karani, Gabriela Quinteros, Maisy Earl, Malayna Leopold, Evan Mazor, Jeeva Kumararaja, Trang Tran, and Kudakwashe Mundove.
Daniel Katz ’23P Family Endowment Fund for Entrepreneurship: student Cedrique Wafula
Michael W. Levin Advanced Technology Competition: student Canaan Kimball
Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 Student Venture Award: student Marcus Smith
The Farrington Award for Outstanding Commitment to Entrepreneurship at Lehigh: Pasquale J. “Pat” Costa, Professor of Practice
Innovation Alley People’s Choice: Bonded, student Grant Thornburgh
Venture Idol, Ben Franklin TechVentures
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania held its annual Venture Idol pitch competition on April 24 at Ben Franklin TechVentures in Bethlehem.
AWG Contracting of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, won the grand prize of $15,000. The company provides innovative Atmospheric Water Generator systems that produce clean, potable water from the air.
Ayana Active of Danville, Montour County, won the Judges’ Choice Award, $2,500. The company offers high-performance, breathable fabrics made from recycled materials and designed for comfort and freedom of movement.
Also competing were:
Americhanvre of Allentown, a hemp building material installation company specializing in hempcrete, a carbon-negative, highly insulating material made from hemp and lime, for residential and commercial construction.
ImmuNovX Biotech of Bethlehem, an early-stage biotechnology company focused on developing a novel class of DNA vaccines using its proprietary LR3N-CS platform.
About 280 investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders, and community supporters attended the event. Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) was a Silver Sponsor.
Other awards presented were:
- Frederick J. Beste III Partnership Award: H. Robert “Gus” Gustafson, Jr., Managing Director and Senior Fellow-Leadership Development at Lehigh University’s Enterprise Systems Center.
- Manufacturing Achievement Award: PowerRail, a leading global supplier of locomotive parts and services in Luzerne County.
- R. Chadwick Paul Entrepreneurial Achievement Award: Game Face Grooming in Monroe County, which offers natural, high-quality face and body wipes, beard car and sneaker cleaning wipes.
(Lafyette photo by Sam Griff. Lehigh photo by Lehigh University. Venture Idol photo by Marco Calderon Photography. Lehigh information courtesy of an article by Lehigh University student Forum Patel)