In a groundbreaking new partnership, the WVU LaunchLab Network partnered with AlphaLab Gear to hold a pitch competition for WVU students and alumni. The winner of the competition earned a coveted slot in the semi-final selection round for the AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup, which boasts a $50,000 grand prize. The Hardware Cup’s goal is “to find and highlight the most promising physical product startups in the nation,” and West Virginia University’s innovations are very promising.
“The opportunity for our student start-up teams to pitch to AlphaLab Gear this year is very exciting. The LaunchLab Network has received national and international attention and our students now have the opportunity to pitch for venture capital investment through this collaboration,” said Assistant Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Dr. Carrie White. “WVU LaunchLab Network students have been producing remarkable innovations, and this gives them an additional chance to showcase their innovations on a national level.”
Six groups of competitors went head to head in this year’s PittStop competition. Those competitors included:
· FIT, (Fashion Innovation Technologies) - Brandon Slicklein, Joshua Slocum, & Dylan Hupp, senior Industrial Engineering students from Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
· ICONIC EDU LLC - Kyle Gillis & James Carnes, senior Industrial Engineering students from Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
· Conscious Heat - Megan Govindan, a PhD candidate in Human and Community Development, Valerie Slone, a masters candidate in Nutrition & Food Science & Michaela Gavigan, a Bachelors candidate in Human Nutrition & Food
· BEAR UAS LLC - Samuel Bearinger, a senior Forest Resources Management student from the Davis College
· Heisler Ventures LLC - Keith Heisler & Dr. Curtis Sproul, a junior industrial engineering student from Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources
· SwiftSENSE - Dr. Zachary Wright, M.D., PhD, Dr. Daryl Reynolds, PhD., Dr. Brandon Lucke-Wold M.D., PhD., & Dr. Nachiket Pendse, PhD
SwiftSENSE, owned by Dr. Wright, Dr. Reynolds, Dr. Lucke-Wold, and Dr. Pendse from the School of Medicine, won first place for their integrated animal monitoring system. Their device reduces the burden of managing lab mice, supporting the next medical breakthrough. The SwiftSENSE team will be headed to Pittsburgh for the Semi-finals in February. For more information on the founders and their company, visit SwifTAGSystems.com.
AlphaLab’s representative for the event, Staci Offutt, was impressed with pitches. “AlphaLab was thrilled to begin this partnership with West Virginia University’s LaunchLab. We were very impressed by the ideas and talent we saw from all of the competitors, and we look forward to future collaboration. We recommend everyone applies to the AlphaLab Gear Hardware Cup and the AlphaLab Gear Product Cycle.”
The winner of the competition was determined by a prestigious panel of judges, including: Anna Carrier, Co-Owner of The Cupcakerie; William Kaigler, Entrepreneur-In-Residence and Assistant Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University; Ephraim Pittore, Product Designer at Clearwater Technology Consultants; and Staci Offutt, Coordinator at Startable Pittsburgh.
The overall competition consists of seven regional semifinal competitions and a national final with a $50,000 grand prize. The winner of each PittStop receives a trip to Pittsburgh and a chance to pitch in the Pittsburgh regional semifinal. The winner of the Pittsburgh regional semifinal receives $3,000 and a spot in the national finals to compete for a $50,000 grand prize.
AlphaLab Gear is a nationally-ranked hardware accelerator located in Pittsburgh, PA that guides early-stage physical product companies through a 30-week program, providing funding, office space, education sessions, connections to customers and mentorship from experts in the industry. AlphaLab Gear follows the program with an optional eight-week manufacturing-focused module. AlphaLab Gear takes young companies from an idea or prototype through manufacturing and commercialization. This competition would not be possible without AlphaLab’s fantastic sponsors, STARTBOT, Innovation Works and Arrow.
Operating since 2014, West Virginia University’s LaunchLab Network serves as a comprehensive, one-stop shop to help students develop and commercialize their ideas, innovations, inventions or business models. In a motivating and supportive environment, the LaunchLab Network is an applied innovation center offers hands-on idea development support, education, mentorship, prototyping facilities, resources and connections to empower entrepreneurs across West Virginia.
The LaunchLab Network is part of the WVU IDEA Hub, a university-wide network of centers, offices and programs that fosters and supports innovation and entrepreneurship among WVU students, faculty and staff while engaging the statewide community.