Lehigh Valley entrepreneurs developing technology to help small manufacturers; protect the environment; and support national defense were among those recognized in the region’s recent pitch competitions and entrepreneur awards ceremonies.
The events, hosted by Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Lafayette College, and Lehigh University provide opportunities for a range of entrepreneurs, from college students to emerging companies, to showcase their ideas and compete for prizes to further fund their work.
Entrepreneurs play a key role in the Lehigh Valley’s $57.3 billion economy. They bring new products and technologies to market, create jobs, and strengthen communities. Supporting entrepreneurs is one of the priorities of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation (LVEDC) in the organization’s Strategic Plan for 2025-2027.
Venture Idol
Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania held its annual Venture Idol pitch competition and awards ceremony on May 7.
“Venture Idol is more than a pitch competition. It's a celebration of ideas, innovation, and collaborative spirit that fuels progress,” said Angelo Valletta, President & CEO of Ben Franklin Northeast.
Hydron Desalination, which has its research and development operations at the Ben Franklin TechVentures business incubator in Bethlehem, won the judges’ choice prize of $5,000. The company uses specialized absorbents to extract clean water from contaminated sources including high-concentration brines. A solvent and heat are used to separate brine from water. And the solvent can be reused.
Mosqitter, a Ben Franklin funded company from East Stroudsburg, won the Audience Choice prize of $20,000 for its technology to attract and trap mosquitoes without using chemicals.
Mussel Polymers, Inc., located at Ben Franklin TechVentures in Bethlehem, won the Chad Paul Entrepreneurial Achievement Award. Mussel Polymers has developed innovative water-resistant and waterproof adhesive technologies that are being used in industries including defense, dental, and marine environmental conservation.
Jan Heller, a former Board Member at Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, won the Frederick J. Beste III Partnership Award for her work helping to advance the Lehigh Valley’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
EAM-Mosca Corp. of Hazelton won the Manufacturing Achievement Award.
Lehigh University
Lehigh’s University's Office of Entrepreneurship held its annual Innovate! Celebrate! pitch competition and awards ceremony on April 28.
“Curiosity is the real heart of entrepreneurship. It's the drive to ask 'Why?' The courage to ask, 'What if?' And the persistence to find out what is truly real in our world and brings value to others,” said Lisa Getzler, Lehigh’s Vice Provost of Entrepreneurship.
JR Perez, Class of 2027, won the Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer Grand Prize of $5,000 for SmartFlow Inventory, a voice-based inventory management platform specifically tailored for small manufacturers.
Walker Blair and Logan Galletta, both Class of 2027, won the Michael W. Levin Advanced Technology award for Kindware, a 100% plastic-free food storage brand built to eliminate toxins.
Max Russo, Class of 2028, won the Donald E. Flinchbaugh Memorial Endowed Scholarship and representing the Sustainable Engineering Club, the Innovation Alley People's Choice Award of $1,000.
Canaan Kimball, Class of 2026, won the Daniel Katz ’23P Family Endowment Fund for Entrepreneurship.
Tawheeda Huq, Class of 2027, and Connor Keene, Class of 2026, won the R.K. Laros Foundation Endowed Prize for Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation.
CareAlert by Lilian Wu, Marianna Angle, Regina Ruiz, Kavya Famolari, Olivia Meyer, María García Rodriguez, Nova Afber, Claire Schwartz, and Olivia Dubrow; and Newtrition, by Samantha Sandhaus, Sophia Principe, Alyssa Rokhvarg, and Marloe Laughlin, won the Davis Projects for Peace Prize.
Dr. Michael Lehman, Director of the Technical Entrepreneurship Master's Program in the Rossin College of Engineering, received the Entrepreneurship & Innovation Faculty Achievement Award.
Dr. Michael Rivera, Assistant Professor of Business Information Systems in the College of Business, received the John B. Ochs Teaching Award.
Frank Balcavage, Class of 2001, received the Farrington Award for Outstanding Commitment to Entrepreneurship. He founded and scaled Mathway globally before selling to Chegg in 2020 and continues to build and invest in new companies.
Lafayette College
The Dyer Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Lafayette College held its annual Big Idea Pitch Competition on April 22.
Daniel Danzinger and Alex Tkachyov won the $1,500 first-place prize for Inline, an AI-powered Socratic Tutor that provides students with around-the-clock mentorship and asks guided questions, rather than fixing errors, to deter AI plagiarism. Inline also won the Audience Choice Award of $200.
Kashif Chopra, Robert McClosky, and Liam Sawian won the $1,000 second-place prize for Boli, an app where Indians — especially people from India's tribal and indigenous communities — can share folk stories, oral traditions, and cultural knowledge in their native language via an app, simple voice note, or text message.
Bahadir Karabulut and Abdi Kusata won the third-place prize of $500 for Unipal, which turns a college’s website into a conversational experience by soliciting questions and providing instant answers along with relevant opportunities.
(Venture Idol photo by Marco Calderon Photography. Lafayette photo courtesy of Dyer Center. Lehigh courtesy of Lehigh University Office of Entrepreneurship).