Entrepreneurism is a key piece of the Lehigh Valley economy, and the region’s colleges and universities are brimming with sharp minds looking to solve problems through innovation.
Student entrepreneurs at Lafayette College and Lehigh University recently showed off their ideas and competed for prizes during their schools’ annual pitch competitions.
Pitching products and services to a panel of judges, their peers, and the public is a major step to getting them to market, which can create jobs and opportunities.
Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. (LVEDC) supports entrepreneurism by building coalitions and partnering with organizations including Lehigh and Lafayette, which participate in LVEDC’s Entrepreneurship Council of the Lehigh Valley.
Lafayette College held its Big Idea Pitch Competition on April 18, by the college’s Dyer Center for Innovation + Entrepreneurship. Six two-student teams participated. 
"Cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset in students is essential for driving innovation and developing solutions to today's challenges as well as those on the horizon. Our mission is to provide a comprehensive support system that empowers Lafayette students to pursue their visionary ideas and launch new ventures," said Rita Chesterton, Director of the Dyer Center.
The grand prize winner was Watermelon, a task and time management app for students, developed by Kwame Otoo Appiah, Joshua Williams, and Eliso Morazara. They earned $1,500.
“The app provides what all of us in moments of stress are looking for - someone to tell us what to do. Our app will provide you with recommendations for what to work on, what order to work on them, how long to work on each task before you burn out, and realistic goals,” Appiah told the judges and audience.
The second-place winner was Amazolar, a plan to bring online education to remote areas of Ecuador through solar-powered internet service, by Carson Belaire and Daniel Andrade. They earned $1,000. They also won the Audience Choice award.
The third-place winner was Fitted, an app to purchase second-hand clothing, by Cameron Schmidt and James Kohler. They earned $500.
The three other teams that competed were:
Rebecca Capone and Abigail Cooley, who pitched CommuniRide, a ridesharing app for students seeking transportation between campus and home.
Adam Fox and Luca Ferrucci, who pitched Next Step Education, an online peer-to-peer college admissions consulting service.
Renton Montie and Elena Thome, who pitched Foam Fusion, a workout and injury prevention device for athletes.
Chesterton encouraged all the participants to continue to pursue their ideas.
“Entrepreneurs never take their first no or their first loss. They keep going. So, keep going. Keep working hard, and we're excited to see where you go with all of these things,” she said.
Lehigh University held its Innovate! Celebrate! dinner event by the university’s Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation on April 16.
Lehigh President Joseph Helble said supporting entrepreneurial thinking is a priority at the university.
“Helping students develop an entrepreneurial mindset encourages so many of the skills that are important no matter what direction one takes,” he said.
Kathryn Keating won the Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 Grand Prize of $5,000 for RenewBluSurf, an eco-friendly surf company working to maintain a thriving coastal environment.
Her company sells a variety of surf accessories and has developed environmentally friendly traction padding for surfboards, HexTracx, for use in place of plastic EVA foam pads.
“Current traction pads on the market have a lifespan of one to two years. If we converted all current traction pad users to HexTracx users, that would eliminate filling up this building we're in right now one and a half times with EVA foam annually,” Keating told the judges and audience.
She competed against two other semifinalists for the grand prize.
Abylaikhan Mukamejanov pitched SkillSat, an app that allows students to learn and write coding and programming for robots by using a smartphone instead of a computer.
Skyler Mott pitched Mark-It, a device that athletes in jumping events at track-and-field competitions can use to mark their spot on the approach, instead of relying on tape, which he said can be unreliable.
All three semifinalists won support from Lehigh’s Ventures Lab.
Other award winners were:
R.K. Laros Foundation Endowed Prize for Entrepreneurship, Creativity & Innovation: students Spencer Duff, Helen Gao, and Ella Rossetti
Donald E. Flinchbaugh Memorial Scholarship: student AJ Tabarani
John B. Ochs Teaching Award: Naomi Rothman, Ph.D.
Daniel Katz ‘23P Family Endowment Fund for Entrepreneurship: student Roman Moskalenko
Office of Technology Transfer Award: students Roman Moskalenko and Canaan Kimball and staff member Eric Markovcy
Michael W. Levin Technology Competition: Winner, student Abylaikhan Mukamejanov; Runner-up, student Griffin Doherty
Joan F. & John M. Thalheimer ’55 Competition: Winner, student Canaan Kimball and staff member Eric Markovcy; Runner-up, student AJ Tabarani
The Farrington Award for Outstanding Commitment to Entrepreneurship at Lehigh: Georgette Phillips, J.D.
People’s Choice Award: student Nancy Henry-Naiho
(Top photo courtesy of Lafayette College)