PupConnect wins top prize at McDaniel's Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge

Update: PupConnect earned the $5,000 top prize as the first-place winner at McDaniel's 2026 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge. ChillPods was awarded the $1,000 People's Choice prize.

PupConnect Presents — PupConnect presented by Makenna Collins, senior Kinesiology major; Charles Mudd, junior Marketing major; Zach Randazzo, first-year student; and Riley Stigler, first-year Business Administration major; was the first-place winner of McDaniel’s 2026 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge.

UPDATE: PupConnect presented by Makenna Collins, senior Kinesiology major from Parkville, Maryland; Charles Mudd, junior Marketing major from Deale, Maryland; Zach Randazzo, first-year student from Bethesda, Maryland; and Riley Stigler, first-year Business Administration major from Hanover, Pennsylvania; earned the $5,000 top prize as the first-place winner of McDaniel’s 2026 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge. PupConnect is a smart harness that uses biometric sensors and AI analysis to detect canine stress levels and provide real-time insights to dog owners through a mobile app.

ChillPods presented by Montez Chapman Jr., senior Kinesiology major from Brooklyn, Maryland; Ethan Gell, junior American Sign Language major from Snow Hill, Maryland; Evan Lawhorn, sophomore Business Administration major from Severna Park, Maryland; and Jabari Stepney, first-year Business Administration major from Waldorf, Maryland; was awarded the $1,000 People's Choice prize.

FieldFlow — Field Flow presented by Jordan Gambrill, senior Business Administration major from Manchester, Maryland; Keiron Wilson, senior Communication major from Laurel, Maryland; Josh Morgan, junior Business Administration major from Bel Air, Maryland; and Ivonne Quiroa Romero, sophomore Accounting and Business Administration major from Glen Burnie, Maryland

PreppedAI presented by Bradley Mills, senior Accounting major from Linthicum, Maryland; Blaine Gover, freshman Marketing major from Annapolis, Maryland; and Pierce Sponaugle, freshman Business Administration major from Port Deposit, Maryland

SpotShare presented by Zachary Layton, senior Marketing major from Delmar, Delaware; Lloyd Schutz, senior Business Administration major from New York; Cole Riley, sophomore Accounting major from Littlestown, Pennsylvania; and AJ Kuntz, freshman Business Administration major from Leonardtown, Maryland

SilentShield — Silent Shield presented by Nick Ferraro, junior Communication major from Collegeville, Pennsylvania; Jake Taylor, junior Marketing major from New Windsor, Maryland; Robert Wood, junior Economics, Accounting, and Business Administration major from Laurel, Maryland; and Sophie Page, freshman Accounting and Business Administration major from Pasadena, Maryland

ChillPods Judges — ChillPods, pictured with Adjunct Lecturer in Economics and Business Administration Jonathan Pernell and Lecturer in Economics and Business Administration Kathleen Pratt, faculty advisor of the college’s Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, was awarded the $1,000 People's Choice prize

PupConnect Judges — PupConnect, pictured with Adjunct Lecturer in Economics and Business Administration Jonathan Pernell and Lecturer in Economics and Business Administration Kathleen Pratt, faculty advisor of the college’s Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, was the first-place winner of McDaniel’s 2026 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge

Entrepreneurship Class Spring 2026 — Entrepreneurship course

Six student teams from McDaniel College’s Entrepreneurship course taught by Adjunct Lecturer in Economics and Business Administration Jonathan Pernell compete for a $5,000 top prize by presenting their entrepreneurial ideas and innovative products to a panel of experts at the 10th annual Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge on Tuesday, April 28.

A prize of $1,000 will also be given to the People’s Choice winner.

The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place at 7 p.m. in Naganna Forum, Roj Student Center.

It will also be streamed live by the Community Media Center on their website, on cable channel HD-1072, and on the Community Media Center’s YouTube.

Watch the livestream on Tuesday, April 28, at 7 p.m.

Click here

The judges who will choose the winners include:

Graham Dodge, a serial entrepreneur and patented inventor, is vice president of venture development at TEDCO, managing Maryland’s venture capital funds. His department is responsible for helping Maryland startups become investment-ready, as well as supporting entrepreneur support organizations to do the same by driving strategic collaborations, supporting entrepreneurial innovation, and defining strategies to leverage networks and resources for innovative success. Dodge previously served as the executive director of MAGIC (Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory).
Greg Merril '87 is a self-described serial entrepreneur. An inventor with 22 issued patents, Merril is currently managing partner of Velocity Biofund. He started his first life science company two weeks after graduating from McDaniel and has since founded three others. Merril has raised over $250 million in equity and non-dilutive capital and successfully landed one of the companies on NASDQ and another on the NYSE. He has achieved international recognition, including being named an Ernst & Young regional Entrepreneur of the Year, and as an operational executive across diverse domains such as antimicrobial therapeutics, diagnostics, wearable sensor devices, AI, and media technologies. Merril was a recipient of McDaniel’s Alumni Professional Achievement Award in 2023.
Kim Samuelson spent over 30 years in the IT industry before retiring to raise her children. She has started a second career as executive director of MAGIC (Mid-Atlantic Gigabit Innovation Collaboratory), a nonprofit organization that works to spur tech and entrepreneurial activity in Carroll County. In her current role, she educates and advocates for a new generation of technology professionals and entrepreneurs. Her goal is to empower and support individual ideas, which in turn promotes the overall prosperity and resilience of a community.

The master of ceremonies is Kathleen Pratt, lecturer in Economics and Business Administration and faculty advisor of the college’s Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Each of the student teams was also paired with an alumni mentor to assist them in developing their ideas and getting ready for the competition.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Challenge is organized by McDaniel’s Economics and Business Administration department and is part of McDaniel’s Program in Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which combines courses, workshops, field trips, and other experiential opportunities to help students develop core entrepreneurial skills, so they can manage their own innovative enterprise. McDaniel students can also choose to minor in Entrepreneurship or major or minor in Marketing.

Teams are:

ChillPods ChillPods develops solar-powered, rapid-deploy cooling systems for outdoor worksites that protect workers from extreme heat while reducing downtime and safety risks for employers.

Presented by Montez Chapman Jr., senior Kinesiology major from Brooklyn, Maryland; Ethan Gell, junior American Sign Language major from Snow Hill, Maryland; Evan Lawhorn, sophomore Business Administration major from Severna Park, Maryland; and Jabari Stepney, first-year Business Administration major from Waldorf, Maryland.

Field Flow Field Flow develops autonomous ball-collection robots for lacrosse, tennis, and baseball programs to reclaim practice time, reduce labor, and maximize on-field training efficiency.

Presented by Jordan Gambrill, senior Business Administration major from Manchester, Maryland; Keiron Wilson, senior Communication major from Laurel, Maryland; Josh Morgan, junior Business Administration major from Bel Air, Maryland; and Ivonne Quiroa Romero, sophomore Accounting and Business Administration major from Glen Burnie, Maryland.

PreppedAI PreppedAI is an AI-powered meal prep platform that uses satiety-based nutrition science to help users lose weight naturally through personalized, automated meal planning.

Presented by Bradley Mills, senior Accounting major from Linthicum, Maryland; Blaine Gover, first-year Marketing major from Annapolis, Maryland; and Pierce Sponaugle, first-year Business Administration major from Port Deposit, Maryland.

PupConnect PupConnect is a smart harness that uses biometric sensors and AI analysis to detect canine stress levels and provide real-time insights to dog owners through a mobile app.

Presented by Makenna Collins, senior Kinesiology major from Parkville, Maryland; Charles Mudd, junior Marketing major from Deale, Maryland; Zach Randazzo, first-year student from Bethesda, Maryland; and Riley Stigler, first-year Business Administration major from Hanover, Pennsylvania.

Silent Shield Silent Shield is a modular privacy case that gives users instant physical control over their smartphone’s camera and microphone, eliminating the risk of remote surveillance and digital intrusion.

Presented by Nick Ferraro, junior Communication major from Collegeville, Pennsylvania; Jake Taylor, junior Marketing major from New Windsor, Maryland; Robert Wood, junior Economics, Accounting, and Business Administration major from from Laurel, Maryland; and Sophie Page, first-year Accounting and Business Administration major from Pasadena, Maryland.

SpotShare SpotShare is a crowd-powered, gamified parking platform that uses real-time user data to reduce congestion and optimize parking efficiency in urban areas and campus environments.

Presented by Zachary Layton, senior Marketing major from Delmar, Delaware; Lloyd Schutz, senior Business Administration major from New York; Cole Riley, sophomore Accounting major from Littlestown, Pennsylvania; and AJ Kuntz, first-year Business Administration major from Leonardtown, Maryland.