Last week, teams of university students pitched their innovative business and startup ideas at the Lobo Rainforest Building, walking away with cash prizes to help support their entrepreneurial pursuits.
The 2024 Pitch Deck Competition, co-hosted by UNM Rainforest Innovations (UNMRI) and the UNM Innovation Academy, provided a platform for student entrepreneurs to pitch their early-stage companies and innovations. UNMRI, the University of New Mexico’s technology transfer and economic-development organization, and UNM Innovation Academy, which offers entrepreneurial studies programs, collaborated to offer the event. Sponsored by the UNM Rainforest Innovations Board of Directors, the event attracted student entrepreneurs aiming to start or grow their ventures. A $20,000 prize pool was distributed among five finalists, who pitched their ideas to a panel of investor judges. Additionally, the UNM Accelerating Resilience Innovations in Drylands (ARID) Institute awarded a special $2,000 prize for a pitch demonstrating excellence in resilience-related innovations.
Opening remarks were delivered by Garnett S. Stokes, Ph.D., President of the University of New Mexico followed by Lisa Kuuttila, CEO & Chief Economic Development Officer of UNM Rainforest Innovations and Rob DelCampo, Ph.D., Executive Director of UNM Innovation Academy.
The judging panel included Chris Japp, Managing Partner of Tramway Venture Partners; Yeri Lopez, Director of Partnerships of J2 Ventures; and John Stormont, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer and Founder of TS-Nano, Inc. and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at UNM.
The winners were:
- First Place ($10,000 Prize) – CampusCore – Charles Aguirre, Psychology, UNM; Dorian Obisike, Computer Science, UNM; and Evan Widner, Finance, UNM
- Second Place ($5,000 Prize) – TerraMind – Elizabeth Kent, Business Administration, UNM
- Third Place ($2,500 Prize) – Portal – Gabriel Gurule, Mechanical Engineering, UNM
- Finalist ($1,250 Prize) – Mimir – James Michael, Biomedical Engineering, UNM
- Finalist ($1,250 Prize) – LoboLocate – Pradip Basnet, Business Administration, UNM and Aayush Kafle, Computer Science, UNM
- ARID Special Award ($2,000 Prize) – GreenGro Media- Joshua Zamora-Griego, Business, UNM and Alex Coker, Mechanical Engineering, UNM
“This year, we were very impressed by the participants’ pitches and innovative ideas,” remarked Lisa Kuuttila. “These university students have bright futures ahead of them, and we hope these awards will help support their growth.”
Pitch deck competitions expand beyond the traditional elevator pitch by incorporating visual aids and summaries that showcase a new company’s business plan or startup vision. The goal of the pitch deck is to capture the attention of potential investors, facilitate meetings with investors, and give entrepreneurs valuable experience presenting their ideas to an audience. Judges assessed various criteria such as a clear value proposition, valid market fit, and understanding of what capital investment might be required to move towards commercialization.
Also read Molly Callaghan’s December 18 article, “UNM hosts Pitch Deck Competition, awards $20,000,” posted on the New Mexico Inno website here: https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/inno/stories/news/2024/12/18/unm-hosts-pitch-deck-competition-awards-20-000.html?utm_source=st&utm_medium=en&utm_campaign=ae&utm_content=AQ&j=37899421&senddate=2024-12-18&empos=p2
