Past and present Babson College students are competing for a collective $100,000 in the Babson Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (B.E.T.A) competition. Babson announced the top 18 semifinalists Tuesday, with six student-created businesses competing in the alumni, undergraduate and graduate categories.
The B.E.T.A competition reflects Babson’s focus on entrepreneurial success, awarding students who have reached major milestones in their various ventures through taking action. The winners in each category will receive $20,000 to fuel their ventures, as well as donations from sponsors. An additional $2,500 will be awarded to the two runner-up finalist ventures.
Last year’s winners included OrangeOctop.us in the undergraduate category, 88 Acres in the graduate category and Manda Seguro in the alumni category.
Since entrepreneurship makes people happy, Babson must be doing something right. Check out the semi-finalists below — with descriptions courtesy of Babson — including everything from specially engineered socks with a social mission to wheelchairs that monitor weight. These 18 semifinalists will present their businesses to the Babson community at the Venture Expo on Wednesday, April 2. The businesses that pass this round will then present on Thursday, April 10 as part of Babson’s Founder’s Day.
Undergraduate Finalists
CAN (Concussion Awareness Network) Recover Foundation, Inc. – Aaron Rocha – Non-profit whose purpose is to build and facilitate a network to support high school and college student-athletes.
Gaudium – Daniel Lloreda, Mauricio Espinosa and Samuel Tcherassi – Men’s luxury clothing brand that makes Pret-a-Porter [ready to wear] clothing for the metropolitan man who wishes to stand out in any concrete jungle around the world.
Inner Tonics – Pranav Chaudhry and Kent Wiederecht – Organic beverage company that specializes in “herbal boosts” designed to awaken your potential using natural ingredients.
Lilypad Scales – Amos Meeks – Lilypad Scales, LLC helps wheelchair users manage their health more effectively and maintain their independence.
NexGen – Michelle Tuzman – Enhanced, extra-curricular, computer science education (CSE) program for children in grades K-12.
Seeds of Fortune – Nitiya Walker– Program that seeks to create economic empowerment for young women of the African diaspora by assisting them in achieving financial success through scholarship and financial literacy support.
Graduate Finalists
BlueGift – Jad Antoun – Allows users to create social funding campaigns in order to give their birthday gifts to a social cause.
FedWell Pet Foods– Emily Lagasse – Believes dogs deserve better food. Their recipes are made with the highest quality ingredients and gently baked to retain nutrition.
HigherMe – Rob Hunter and Evan Lodge – Website and mobile application that gives prospective employees the chance to submit short one-minute video introductions to any retail establishments in their area. HigherMe allows prospective employers to get a glimpse of the more human qualities necessary to succeed in retail environments.
Parinay Malik – Parinay Malik – Marketplace for customers to design their own products. Its web-based platform offers visual realism and a journey for customers as they experience freedom, inspiring ideas, creativity and collaboration with world-renowned product designers and architects.
Plaiding – Jorge Gutierrez – Advertisement network with social causes. It’s a tool for both brands and mobile App users to help the world.
Startup Rounds – Paul Hammond – Qualifies startups for investment. Companies apply to compete in a contest for support, recognition, customers and capital. The top scoring startups advance to later rounds, establishing credibility, proving concept, and gaining recognition, furthering opportunities to raise money, generate sales and win cash prizes.
Alumni Finalists
Bombas – David Heath, Andrew Heath and Randy Goldberg – socks engineered and designed to look better, feel better and with a mission to help the homeless.
Coretex, LLC – Alex R. Patterson and Sudhir Shandilya – Technology company founded by individuals who are passionate about athletics and geeky enough to see how technology can be used to address concussions and head impact injuries.
JAZE – Noah Gordon – a Bluetooth-enabled mobile App that not only lets you know what’s wrong with your car before you visit the mechanic but also gets emergency services to you after a crash.
Sol Power LLC – Ryan Wright, Sam Feller, Daniel Viner and Nick Picca – Clean tech company that specializes in designing and developing solar powered charging stations for mobile electronic devices.
Vedavoo – Scott Hunter – American builder of bags, backpacks, and gear for outdoor recreation.
ZOOS, LLC – Niari Keverian and Kristina Tsipouras – Greek Iced-Tea that is developed to deliver on great taste, unique offerings, and a healthier alternative to other iced-tea products currently on the market.
