McDaniel students compete April 15 for $10K top prize at annual Innovation Challenge Finals

Five student teams compete April 15 at 6:30 p.m. in Decker Auditorium, Lewis Hall of Science, for a $10,000 top prize, $3,000 second place and $2,000 audience-choice third place by presenting their entrepreneurial ideas and products to a panel of experts at the annual McDaniel College Innovation Challenge Finals. The event is free and open to the public. Doors open at 6 p.m. and a Launch Carroll networking event for young professionals in their 20s and 30s takes place prior to the event at 5 p.m. in McDaniel Lounge.

The McDaniel College Innovation Challenge competition is part of The Encompass Distinction, an academic program in innovation and entrepreneurship that is open to students in any major. By combining courses, off-campus learning experiences and mentorship by entrepreneurial alumni of the college, students gain broad-ranging skill sets required for enterprise management. The Encompass Distinction also includes entrepreneurship and marketing minors.

McDaniel College’s entrepreneur-in-residence Jonathan C. Weetman serves as the master of ceremonies at the finals. The program is made possible with the support of 1968 alumnus Dennis Sisco and Alexine Lesko through The Sisco Fund for Enterprise Management.

The five finalists were chosen by members of the President’s Advisory Council, which is made up of entrepreneurial alumni of the college. The students were judged based on creativity/innovation, clarity of purpose, market potential, financial plan and overall strength of application of their entrepreneurial idea or product.

The finalists are:

• Abilitize

Presented by senior Nolan Wolf, Political Science major from Seattle, junior Jeremy Crowley, Communication and Cinema major from Baltimore, junior Thomas Riedo, Business Administration and Cinema major from Chandler, Ariz., and sophomore Aidan Finnerty, Political Science major from Selinsgrove, Pa.

Mission statement: “Our goal is to empower businesses to engage people with disabilities."

• AWARE

Presented by junior Madison Hively, Business Administration major from Frederick, Md.

Mission statement: "We are a company with a conscience. AWARE is aimed at creating electricity in a renewable way that is easy for the consumer. We are here to change the world and provide a humanitarian and environmental impact.”

• Fox Boots

Presented by junior Rachael Fox, Environmental Studies major from Crofton, Md.

Mission Statement: “Build a women’s boot company that creates a reliable and comfortable product that assists any woman in her outdoor needs.”

• Liquid Lens

Presented by senior Chloe DePiano, Communication major from Titusville, N.J., senior Zachary Fortuna, Business Administration major from Metuchen, N.J., and senior Dustin Miller, Communication major from Wyomissing, Pa.

Mission statement: “We aim to provide sustainable packaging solutions to the beverage industry, while introducing technology, and aiming to make a positive environmental impact.”

• Money Mind

Presented by senior Marissa Funke, Accounting Economics and Business Administration major from Kings Park, N.Y.

Mission statement: “To provide simple, general financial literacy guiding young adults into a financially educated and secure future."

The judges who will choose the winning teams include:

• Jason Stambaugh, entrepreneur and director of partner experience at DTS Connex, a suite of online cash management tools used in over 30,000 retail locations nationwide. A resident of Westminster, Md., he is a 2007 alumnus of McDaniel.
• Guy Sheetz, entrepreneur and managing director of Greyhound Holdings, LLC, an investment and consulting firm. Sheetz is a former executive vice president at Medifast, Inc.
• Debra Cancro, founder of VoiceVibes, an automated coaching tool that empowers effective communicators. VoiceVibes is headquartered in Marriottsville, Md.
• Funlayo Alabi, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Shea Radiance, a beauty product line that supports women-run cooperatives in West Africa. She and her products, which are sold nationally, have been featured in Forbes, Elle and Inc.