2020 Semifinalists & Track Winners
Business Products & Services (B to B)
Gearflow (1st place in BtoB track)
Gearflow is the first marketplace for all things construction, providing easy access to reliable suppliers for all heavy equipment needs.
Ben Preston, Kellogg ’21 and Mike Hostetler, Kellogg ’21
WareIQ (2nd place in BtoB track)
WareIQ is an asset lite distributed fulfillment platform that enables online sellers to offer same-day and next-day delivery experience.
Hardik Tiwari, Kellogg ’21
Authentic Media Ascension
AMA is a platform propelling the next generation of brands through growth analytics and digital strategy.
Jihad Esmail, Weinberg ’21; Mateo Price, Weinberg ’21; and Lainey Dow, Medill ’23
City Health Tech
City Health Tech is building the future of preventive disease education and technology, starting by redesigning the way we wash our hands.
Ibraheem Alinur, McCormick ’20
DealDock Inc.
DealDock Inc. is a SaaS platform built to automate and streamline workflows for private equity firms.
Shyam Mani, Weinberg ’21; Nirmal Balachundhar, Weinberg ’21; and Akhil Kambhammettu, Medill ’21
Money Intelligence
Money Intelligence is solving America’s retirement problem by helping every American access a Fortune 500 quality 401(k) plan.
Monte Malhotra, Kellogg and Pritzker ’20
Consumer Products & Services (B to C)
Qade (1st place in BtoC track)
Qade is a platform that brings gamers together to easily keep track of video game wagers and statistics.
Spencer Levitt, Weinberg ’22 and Austin Pager, SESP ’22
Off Grid Inn (2nd place in BtoC track)
Off Grid Inn uses beautiful underutilized land in nature to combine comfort and seclusion by building modern sustainable tiny cabins.
Ben Cherrey, Kellogg ’20
again&again
again&again is a circular fashion brand making more comfortable jeans designed to never be thrown out.
Marcus Schneider, Kellogg ’20
Blanx
Blanx is a lifestyle brand that amplifies the voice of a concerned generation through limited-edition apparel designed by creative activist collaborators.
Ariel Bacal, Kellogg ’20
Serena
Serena empowers customers to design fine jewelry that matches their vision.
Kinsey Hart, Kellogg and McCormick, ’21
Energy & Sustainability
Blip (1st place in Energy & Sustainability track)
Blip is a residential energy storage solution focused on saving renters money by leveraging price arbitrage and repurposed EV batteries.
Dennis Kontorovich, Kellogg ’20; Sophia Wennstedt, Kellogg and McCormick ’21; Chance Cobb, School of Communications ’20; and Thibaut Feremans, Kellogg ’21
Recigases (2nd place in Energy & Sustainability track)
Recigases helps companies better manage their refrigerant gas, save money, fulfill their legal obligations and be more sustainable through reclamation services.
Fernanda Pupe Colaço, Kellogg and McCormick ’20
Carbon Yield
Carbon Yield helps farmers access new revenue streams through carbon markets.
Claire Pluard, Kellogg, ’20 and Sam Schiller, Kellogg ’21
Zeitgeist LLC
Zeitgeist LLC is an electric consumer products brand that provides lithium battery power stations for home emergency backup power.
David Harper, McCormick ’20 and Vishaal Mali, McCormick ’20
Life Sciences & Medical Innovations
B-Vitals (1st place in Medical track)
B-Vitals is a digital health company that embeds a child’s behavioral health into the standard pediatrician visit.
Hanna Colin, Kellogg ’20
Clearstep (2nd place in Medical track)
Clearstep’s digital front door to healthcare features a suite of SaaS products to enhance patient acquisition, retention, and routing, starting with symptom checking.
Bilal Naved, McCormick and Feinberg ’24
Blue Comet Medical Solutions LLC
Blue Comet Home Test for Strep Throat is the only over-the-counter, user-friendly at-home test to diagnose and treat strep throat.
Sara Jandeska, Kellogg ’22 and Rashmi Babtiwale, Kellogg ’22
Cardiosense
Cardiosense is a noninvasive cardiac monitoring platform to help fight chronic diseases such as hypertension and heart failure.
Amit Gupta, Kellogg ’20 and Avi Kazen, McCormick ’20
Hubly Surgical, Inc.
Hubly is forming the future of safe neurotechnology, starting with our twice patent-pending, advanced drilling system designed to reduce the 20% failure rate of the most common neurosurgery.
Dr. Nikhil Murthy, Kellogg ’21
Stemloop
Stemloop is a public health business, developing an on-site, rapid, low-cost environmental test kit for SARS-CoV-2.
Adam Cohen, Kellogg ’20
Social Impact
Tilt (1st place in Social Impact track)
Tilt helps students understand and prepare for the true cost of college.
Sinthuja Nagalingam, Kellogg ’20
FinLit (2nd place in Social Impact track)
FinLit bridges the opportunity gap by empowering individuals to take control of their financial lives.
Adam Turville, Kellogg and Pritzker ’21 and Brandan Matthews, Kellogg and Pritzker ’21
Creci, Inc.
Creci is a fintech company that empowers social impact entrepreneurs working to further the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Andres Idarraga, Kellogg ’20
Renoster
Renoster is an intelligent security solution for nature reserves.
Saif Bhatti, McCormick ’20