Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at UAlbany held our 5th annual Innovation Competition on Friday, April 24th. 21 teams from across the university participated in the two-round event for a chance to win the $1,000 top prize.
Teams competed in two rounds and were divided into five categories: Environment, Health and Wellness, Social; Food; Products; Services; and Technology and Entertainment. Teams were scored on their presentation, innovativeness, financial understanding, a growth plan. The top team from each category advanced to the final round which was held live via zoom in in front of the judges. Teams presented their ventures to a panel of 10 judges consisting of Entrepreneurs, Financial Advisors, Bankers, Consultants, and Healthcare Executives.
The third place team was TrashlogiX, founded by MBA students Josh Frederick, Sumit Mondaiyka, Michael Houghton, and Tony Andrews. TrashlogiX is an idea for a classic waste transfer station with the focus the recycling and reuse of materials, as opposed to landfilling. Construction and Demolition debris will be brought to the facility and sorted and separated into different categories. Categories will include wood, plastics, ferrous metals, non-ferrous metals, asphalt roofing, gypsum board, concrete and CMU block, brick, and finally items that will need to be landfilled.
The second place team was Duct LLC, founded by school of business undergraduate students Joe Schnetzler and John Dibernardi. Duct is a Construction Technology startup. Duct is a subcontract management platform for general contractors and subcontractors. Duct looks to get projects done faster and easier leading to higher cost savings and boosted productivity. They also ensure that work done properly is properly paid for eliminating mechanic liens and the need for surety insurance. Duct was recently accepted into StartCo accelerator in Memphis TN. Visit them at: www.ductllc.com
The winning venture was LUXLife, founded by Human Biology undergraduate student Marielle Apronte. LUX Life is a beauty and health company that offers custom wig services and quality hair extensions. They pride themselves on offering customers superior quality virgin human hair extensions. They are committed to offering our customers the products and support that they need so that each customer has the best experience possible. None of LUXLife’s extensions have been chemically processed. Visit them at: www.luxlifehair.com
Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at UAlbany would like to thank all the teams for their hard work preparing for this competition, and the Judges their support, time, and feedback. We would also like to thank William Newman of Atrium Financial Group for donating a portion of the prize money.
About Blackstone LaunchPad at UAlbany:
The Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars entrepreneurship network helps University at Albany students succeed. Open to all students and alumni in all majors, the campus-based Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars enables participants to access mentoring, grow their network, and access the resources to accelerate the success of their business.