110 entries, 300 students and 67 different universities later, the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship officially wrapped e-Fest 2023 by awarding $215,000 in cash prizes.
St. Thomas team Epiblock took home $30,000 for the second-place finish. Epiblock is a mouth-inserted medical device that helps stop nosebleeds.
The $50,000 grand prize was awarded to OnPoint Ventilation from Johns Hopkins University for its solution that provides complete lung separation and easy insertion to enable one-lung ventilation during medical procedures.
Two University of St. Thomas teams, Epiblock and Chemco, competed in the April 27-29 event at the Schulze School’s downtown Minneapolis campus.
St. Thomas students Gabriel Riegert ’25 (marketing and Spanish) and Georges Macheta ’25 (entrepreneurship and computer science) took the top prize during Thursday night’s Pitch Slam, winning $10,000 for their 90-second pitch of their business, Chemco.
Additionally, St. Thomas entrepreneurship major Asher Anderson ’23 was part of the first-place winning team in Friday afternoon’s Innovation Challenge. During this event, students formed teams with members of other universities and had three hours to complete a challenge and pitch to a panel of judges. The team took home $20,000.
Here is the full list of winners from e-Fest 2023 (for more information on each of the Top 25 teams that participated in the finals, visit efest.biz):
$50,000 Grand Champion:
- OnPoint Ventilation from Johns Hopkins University: Snetha Batheja, Ria Jha, Nina Nair, Arijit Nukala, and Krisha Thakur
- A solution that provides complete lung separation and easy insertion to enable one-lung ventilation
- Advisers: Charlie Almoney and Elizabeth Logsdon
$30,000 Runner-up:
- Epiblock from University of St. Thomas: Asher Anderson, Caroline Anderson, Collin Brunet
- Mouth-inserted medical device that restricts blood flow to the nasal cavity and surrounding area
- Adviser: Alec Johnson
$20,000 Third Place:
- Greenscapes from University of Minnesota-Crookston and the University of St. Thomas: Matt Gendreau, Ben Goelz, Matthew Thielen
- Converting recycled glass into sand for course bunkers and topdressing maintenance
- Adviser: Rachel Lundbohm
$15,000 Fourth Place:
- Rarities Market from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and Saint Francis University: Chad Tjugum and Damian Tobias
- A database and marketplace for the rare coin industry
- Adviser: William Dougan
$10,000 Fifth Place:
- DioTex Diagnostics from Johns Hopkins University: Feiyang Huang, Eric Simon, Ellie Zhang
- Developing a rapid point-of-care diagnostics tool for internal hemorrhage
- Adviser: Nicholas Durr
Social Impact and Global Impact Awards:
- Elythea from Brown University and Dartmouth College: Reetam Ganguli and Rishik Lad
- A platform that obstetricians in both developed and underdeveloped settings use to detect adverse outcomes in pregnant mothers
- Adviser: Stephen Wagner
Pitch Slam!
The top 25 finalist teams arrived at the University of St. Thomas on April 27 and kicked off the weekend with the Pitch Slam! No slides, no props, no videos, just a microphone and 90 seconds to pitch their business ventures to the audience. All 25 teams delivered 90-second elevator pitches, with the top three teams sharing prize money totaling $17,500.
First Place - $10,000:
- Chemco from the University of St. Thomas: Georges Macheta and Gabriel Riegert
- Adviser: Alec Johnson
Second Place - $5,000:
- Lectra from West Chester University: Jake Henry and Tyler Yeagy
- Adviser: Patricia Diggin
Third Place - $2,500:
- Evendtor from Beloit College: Jalen Ponder and Lane Wilson
- Adviser: Brian Morello
Innovation Challenge:
On the evening of April 28, students formed teams with members of other universities and had three hours to work through a challenge and create a presentation to pitch to judges comprised of our university advisers. The top three teams shared prize money totaling $35,000.
First Prize of $20,000:
- Asher Anderson, Epiblock from the University of St. Thomas
- Owen Doyle, Nix Labs LLC from Florida Gulf Coast University
- Cole Rameson, Brainable from Loyola Marymount University
- Aditi Sitolay, NextMed from the University of British Columbia
Second Prize of $10,000:
- Nina Berglund, Menta from Loyola Marymount University
- Jake Henry, Lectra from West Chester University
- David Riha, ReadyCloth from Florida Gulf Coast University
- Trevor Wilson, Smart Dorm from the University of Montana
Third Prize of $5,000:
- Caroline Anderson, Epiblock from the University of St. Thomas
- Ria Jha, OnPoint Ventilation from Johns Hopkins University
- Rishik Lad, Elythea from Dartmouth College
