TCU Values and Ventures competition hosts 51 universities

 Texas Christian University.

TCU Neeley School of Business has awarded $79,700 to student entrepreneurs in the 2017 Values and Ventures Competition

With 51 universities competing, three local teams received cash awards in the competition.

Locally, Tarleton State won a special innovation award of $2,500. The University of Texas at Arlington won an honorable mention award of $2,500. Southern Methodist University owon a special ripple effect award of $5,000.

The top 18 student teams out of 51 universities won cash and in-kind prizes in the competition that rewards plans for businesses that make a profit while making a difference. More than 100 business professionals served as judges and mentors to provide a solid base of knowledge about the viability of startup businesses.

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TCU’s Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition was co-founded by Nancy Tartaglino Richards and Lisa Barrentine of First Preston HT in partnership with the TCU Neeley School of Business. It is presented annually by the Neeley Entrepreneurship Center. Since 2010, 230 teams have vied for nearly $400,000 in cash prizes and $850,000 in kind donations. At least 90 companies have launched from the competition. The unique aspect of the competition is that all plans must be for-profit ventures with a significant values component.

• Grand Prize $25,000 plus $75,000 in kind University of Iowa Health Tech Solutions modernizes communication in organ transplant, using a real-time mobile software application that is HIPAA compliant and facilitates instantaneous communication and information flow.

• Second Place $15,000 plus $15,000 in kind Johns Hopkins University Treyetech has developed a device for corneal surgery that eliminates difficult aspects of the procedure for surgeons by modifying the workflow and reallocating steps to skilled eye bank technicians.

• Third Place $10,000 plus $10,000 in kind Grand Valley State University Stir It Up Bakery provides proprietary training and meaningful employment to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to empower them and decrease turnover for employers.

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• Honorable Mention $2,500 University of California-Irvine Closed Loop Plastics transforms plastic waste from 3D printing, campus life and ocean plastics into usable filament for further innovation. The entire process uses only renewable energy.

• Honorable Mention $2,500 University of Michigan Kulisha offers a wastewater treatment solution for food and beverage processing plants that converts organic biosolid waste products into a sustainable insect-based protein for use in animal feeds.

• Honorable Mention $2,500 University of Pikeville CitrOHa has created an all-natural functional dog food additive with an antioxidant and nutritional blend derived from the seeds and peels of lemon-byproducts from citrus juice manufacturing.

• Honorable Mention $2,500 University of Texas at Arlington SolGro provides a nano-phosphor embedded plastic to replace greenhouse canopies with technology that amplifies the sun’s UV light by converting the color spectrum unused by plants into wavelengths needed for photosynthesis.

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• Honorable Mention $2,500 University of Virginia PAKA is an alpaca wool apparel company that gives Peruvian women weavers the resources to financially empower themselves. Sustainably is involved in all aspects, from natural dyes, to weaving, to the animal.

• Honorable Mention $2,500 and Founders Award $5,000 University of Chicago Averia Health Solutions provides low-cost concussion sideline screening to young athletes using a device that leverages a smartphone’s camera and computational capabilities to make accurate eye tracking accessible.

• Marjorie and James Sly Innovation Award $2,500 Tarleton State University TreeMendous Tree-Ps wrap around trees for easy-to-use micro-ecosystems that reduce water, energy and herbicide use by 75-90 percent. TreeMendous donates Tree-Ps to school and community gardens.

• Ripple Effect Award $5,000 SMU

Pōk The Raw bar serves primarily healthy, pure, poke raw fish bowls from Hawaii. Through its Imagine X Inspire program, the company partners with CASA Youth Shelter to transition foster teens into adulthood.

• Elevator Pitch First Place $1,000 University of Florida Sci Chic provides 3D printed plastic and metal fashion jewelry to encourage young women to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

• Elevator Pitch Second Place $500 University of Western Ontario TimeFund lets refugees in displaced communities share skills using time as currency. Refugees can contribute an hour of their time, for example cooking or translating, in exchange for a time coin they can use for other services.

• Elevator Pitch Third Place (tie) $250 Washington University in St. Louis GiftAMeal is a socially conscious marketing platform for restaurants, giving a meal to someone in need each time a user takes a photo at a participating restaurant.

• Elevator Pitch Third Place (tie) $250 University of Alabama BioGram LLC has adapted the panoramic lens used for rocket engine analysis to be part of a new device used to perform minimally invasive heart surgery and endoscopic cancer diagnosis procedures.

• Elevator Pitch Honorable Mention $100 Kennesaw State University Art’NspirED LLC provides handmade products from World Fair Trade craftsmen across the globe, partnering with local schools to advertise while educating students about the nations where the products are created.

• Elevator Pitch Honorable Mention $100 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater RydePass reduces ride-share risk through a mobile platform that serves populations that are vulnerable due to lack of on-hand cash or credit, diminished capacity or located in high-risk areas.

http://neeley.tcu.edu/vandv/