And the Finalists Are …
Nearly 80 startups within the Babson community applied. Twelve semifinalists were named. And, now, three finalists have been chosen to compete for upward of $100,000 at Babson’s biggest pitch competition yet.
Babson ePitch: Second Century Challenge
On September 20, we will welcome to the stage:
- Arist—a text message learning platform led by Michael Ioffe ’21, Ryan Laverty ’20, and Maxine Anderson ’22, three recent Summer Venture Program (SVP) alumni, and Joe Passanante.
- Gentreo Inc.—an estate planning software led by Renee Fry and Mary Kate D’Souza, WIN Lab®Boston alumni.
- TORq Interface Inc.—a real-time surgical scheduling resource for hospitals and vendors led by Joanna Geisinger, MBA’17 another SVP alumna and 2017 B.E.T.A. Challenge winner
The competition will take place during Babson Connect: Worldwide, one of three signature events that make up Babson’s upcoming Centennial Celebration, September 18–22, 2019.
These entrepreneurs plan to pitch, and hopefully win over, a panel of well-known judges, including: Jamie Siminoff ’99, CEO and chief inventor of Ring; Tim Chae, general partner, 500 Startups; Diane Hessan, founder and chairman of C Space, Fred Kiang ’70, MBA’75, H’19, founder of Sunrise Duty Free; Alicia Castillo Holley MBA’96, founder and CEO of Wealthing Institute and member of Sand Hill Angels, and Edward Marram, entrepreneur and senior lecturer at Babson.
The concept took off in late 2018 as Babson planned for its Centennial year events, and tapped into eTower—the College’s student-led, entrepreneurial powerhouse of a living-learning community.
Founded in 2001, eTower houses some of the most dedicated student entrepreneurs to ideate, take action, and learn from one another’s ventures.
“We were super interested in this idea from the start,” said Sumukh Setty ’21, current eTower president and CEO of TILE. “To be involved in something of this caliber, during Babson’s biggest and most exciting year yet … this is an unmatched opportunity in terms of visibility, access, and experience.”
Students, alumni, parents, faculty, and staff were all eligible to apply. A panel of eight judges reviewed 78 applications, representing companies of various stages, sizes, and industries from around the world. Of the 12 semifinalists chosen, 75 percent had a woman on the founding team.
Babson ePitch will be hosted at Babson’s Wellesley, Massachusetts, campus, in the brand new Babson Recreation and Athletics Complex, on Friday, September 20, at 2:30 p.m. EST. The competition will follow the Young Entrepreneur Panel: “Swimming with The Sharks”—where four alumni will share their experiences in pitching their ideas on ABC’s “Shark Tank.”
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