2024 SNVC Winners
37 teams entered the Shocker New Venture Competition and the students on those teams came together from varied backgrounds of study to compete. The colleges they represented included:
College of Applied Studies
College of Engineering
College of Fine Arts
College of Health Professions
College of Innovation & Design
Fairmount College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Graduate School
W. Frank Barton School of Business
Throughout the three rounds of the competition, competitors received feedback from the industry professionals, experts, and entrepreneurs who acted as judges. With the help of 115 judges, the number of teams was narrowed to four winning teams.
Without further ado, we are proud to present the winners of this year’s Shocker New Venture Competition!
TestKey
1st Place, $25,000
Nick Vasilescu’s journey to create TestKey was aided by the empowerment he experienced researching under Dr. Persons, a genetics and cell molecular professor at Newman University. Dr. Persons provided Nick the freedom and flexibility to research and do projects that interested him—helping him take advantage of the inspiration behind TestKey.
Walter Issac described the future Jennifer Doudna, the founder/inventor of CRISPR gene editing, saw for “…disease treatment, where you could print off a drug infused tattoo at home and apply it to yourself from the comfort of your home.” The idea fascinated Nick and inspired the idea behind TestKey, a startup with the goal to improve the diagnosis process and make it more convenient.
The exploration Nick undertook to develop a working prototype began with trying to diagnose Huntington disease in fruit flies. Through those experiments and many others, he created a diagnostic tool that identifies diseases via one’s DNA using a process as convenient as a rapid test, more formally known as a lateral flow test. This eliminates the need for specialized laboratory equipment and makes it possible for people to test themselves within their own home.
From competing in the competition, Nick learned valuable lessons surrounding pitching; namely, “Keep it simple and easy to understand. Also, something cliche but I believe it helped, I think showing your determination and ability to get back up when you fall is important.”
After he finishes developing the technology behind TestKey, Nick is planning “to license out the technology/intellectual property to a larger test strip company (someone like Abbott) who can get the test in the hands of patients due to their large and vast distribution channels.”
“The biggest opportunity from SNVC is the connections I've made with the judges and
the ability to move forward with my startup. At the end of the day, we are solving
a real and significant problem, and it will help millions of people to be able to
provide diagnostic tests for Long Covid, a disease that affects 1 in 9 people in the
US today. By the end of the summer, we will have a test in hand thanks to the fiscal
support from SNVC and other opportunities provided to us from the competition.”
- Nick Vasilescu
MedX Innovations
2nd Place, $7,000
During clinical observations, the team behind MedX Innovations learned experienced medical professionals struggle with correctly administering CPR. For one medical professional, it took 25 years to discover "she was not allowing enough time between chest compressions for the heart to refill with blood. This mistake was not discovered until she performed CPR on a mannequin that provided real-time feedback while performing CPR." Mistakes made during CPR reduces the survival rate associated with performing CPR on a cardiac arrest patient. Their clinical observations inspired Mea Ames, Jeramy Lamar, Coewen Rains, and Mayra Ramirez to create CPR+U, the first product of MedX Innovations.
The MedX Innovations team designed CPR+U to give those performing CPR on a person real-time feedback. The feedback includes vocal CPR instructions in addition to a compression depth and speed indicator.
The Shocker New Venture Competition challenged the team behind MedX Innovations to expand beyond their engineering skillset and delve into "all the factors that go into taking the device to market and how these factors affect the potential customers or company finances." In this way, the competition helped the team "experience a small portion of what it takes to start a business."
"Go into the competition with a winner’s mindset and regardless of the outcome be
proud of your hard work and dedication."
- MedX Innovations Team
ColdPulse
3rd Place, $4,000
Working closely with their faculty advisors, Jarret Delancy, Wesley Horner, Adam Key, Shelby Partridge, and Aaron Sisco had their attention directed to “…a repeated problem of athletes not being able to cool themselves while training.” The overheating athletes experience “… leads to fatigue, destroying personal bests and hindering productivity.”
Recognizing this problem “… ignited us to start researching and designing solutions.” Their decision to focus on cooling orthotics was influenced by recently published research into cooling body temperature through the “…glabrous skin and arteriovenous anastomoses found in the feet.”
By competing in the competition, the team behind ColdPulse was given feedback that helped them pinpoint new markets and uses for their product. This helped them “…realize there is huge potential for our product.”
“I would advise anyone considering entering the competition—enter if you have any
passion for entrepreneurship. After you enter the competition, ensure you have done
great market research, and while you’re at the trade show have fun and be enthusiastic
about your company.”
- Adam Key
Fluency
People's Choice Award, $500
At a local cheeseburger joint, Cole McAuliffe, Andrew Gimino, Keenan Nguyen, and Stephan Buchanan grew to be familiar with a Spanish speaking chef. Their interactions with the chef inspired a desire to learn Spanish, and they began to explore different options on the market.
Finding no “language learning app that enables people to learn entirely through an app,” the team aspired to use AI to help them create the first: Fluency. They began working on creating an immersive app where “…users engage in conversations with A.I.-simulated historical figures, navigate real-world scenarios, enjoy interactive games, and expand their vocabulary.”
The competition exposed the Fluency team to a range of expertise, and “… the judges asked questions that have shifted our paradigms and put us on a path that we believe to have a higher chance of success.”
Expanding their team within a few weeks of the competition’s conclusion, the team behind Fluency is working to have a Beta program for their testers before the summer is over.
“Wichita is filled with entrepreneurs and SNVC does a phenomenal job of bringing together
a variety of different perspectives to challenge your ideas.”
- Fluency Team
2023 SNVC Winners
Students came together from varied backgrounds of study to compete in this year’s competition. The colleges they represented included:
College of Applied Studies
College of Engineering
College of Health Professions
College of Innovation & Design
Over the course of the three-round competition, the number of teams was narrowed from forty-one to four winning teams. Throughout the competition, competitors received feedback from the industry professionals, experts, and entrepreneurs who acted as judges.
We are proud to present the winners of this year’s Shocker New Venture Competition!
Player Card
1st Place, $10,000
Jacob O’Connor and Jon Peterson took note of changes in the NCAA legislation that allowed college athletes to profit from their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) and found their opportunity to make their passion into a startup. As Jon said, “Jacob and I started Player Card because of our love of sports. Varsity sports and AAU leagues were a large part of our lives in high school. We didn’t choose to play in college; however, we knew we wanted to keep as involved as possible.”
Their startup, Player Card seeks to “remove friction from the process of working with college athletes and create mutually beneficial interactions between the two parties.” To do so, they handle many processes including “deal generation, to athlete matching, schedule coordination, event facilitation, content creation, and athlete payment.”
Player Card is currently operating in Wichita. It is here Jacob and Jon have been able to test and refine their product, and they are now looking to expand their operations to Manhattan to capitalize off the recent good season their teams have experienced.
"The advice I would offer to someone looking to start a business or compete in the
competition is to just start. A lot of people get held up with “I need this or that
and then I’ll start my business;” it’s often an excuse we tell ourselves because we’re
scared/timid to take the first steps. There are low-cost ways to start your venture,
you may just need to get creative. When you start taking action towards your business,
good things will happen, and the right people will come along."
- Jacob O’Connor
Female Engineering Matters
2nd Place, $4,000
Rahmah Alsukayr, Rosa Chicas, Karen Duong, Jessica Gorton, and Angelica Perez “all personally related to one another as women, especially, as minorities who are still underrepresented in the Engineering community.” It was through this connection they were inspired to create the team Female Engineering Matters and to tackle an issue within women’s health: reducing lower back pain during pregnancy.
To address the problem they identified, they developed a product: Triple B Support. It is a wearable support system that alleviates “aches presented in the lower back, support the weight of the belly, and provide comfort for sore breasts.”
“You can truly do anything if you set your mind to it. When our team first formed,
we were all clueless and had zero idea what we wanted to do, how to solve any problems
or strive for our goals. If it’s scary and nerve wrecking, then you are in the right
place.”
- Karen Duong
Optimum Wellness
3rd Place, $2,000
Vision Vest
4th Place, $1,000
People’s Choice Award, $500
The curious nature of Grant Johnson, Jun Chang Teoh, and Keenan Nguyen left them "always needing to question ‘Why?’ and ‘How can it be better?’” Their curious nature led them to investigate how blind individuals navigate and to question the available options.
Vision Vest was developed as the team researched and interviewed blind individuals. Their product offers a radically different means of navigation to the traditional walking stick. They used haptic sensors placed within a vest to “empower those that are blind to navigate, avoid objects, and identify those objects” without directly touching them.
The team is still working to refine their prototype.
“The Shocker New Venture Competition allowed us to view our product through the lens
of a business and be asked questions that we would have never thought of on our own.
Ultimately the answers to these questions are what makes or breaks a successful business.”
- Grant Johnson
Erudite Adaptations
1st Place, $10,000
Their new venture is an adjustable cranial band that is used to treat infant cranial deformities. Their device will be sold to treatment centers all across America.
Artificial Motion
2nd Place, $4,000
People's Choice, $500
Novel system for a prosthetic socket that actively compensates for heat buildup and
volume fluctuation within the residual limb.
Agri-Tour 360
3rd Place: $2,000
Building the bridge between consumers and producers.
Osteofast
4th Place, $1,000
3D Printed Casts with healing Technology