Student entrepreneurial teams pitched innovative business ideas at the 2022 Sunstone Innovation Challenge held this April. In first place was a California State University Long Beach industrial design major. Ryon Adams won the award for a violin that addresses the high cost of entry for student violinists with an injection-molded polymer construction designed for easy at-home repair.
The winners of the Sunstone Innovation Challenge were announced following final pitch presentations on April 14th. International investment firm Sunstone Management partnered with California State University Long Beach (CSULB) Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship to sponsor the university’s 12th annual campus-wide business plan competition.
According to CSULB News, $15,000 in seed funding, and workspace, marketing, legal, and accounting services totaling up to $35,000 were up for grabs.
One team developed an app-based branding service that offers tools for athletes to elevate their personal ‘brand’ by generating social media content and sharing it with a wide audience, with a two-tiered subscription model for ‘Rising Stars’ and ‘MVPs’.
An engineering student presented a plan for a new wind turbine component that would minimize windmill repair costs, extend the lifespan of turbine blades, and increase the overall energy production and net revenue of the windmill.
MBA students presented an app that helps users develop financial literacy. The app would innovate on services provided by Forbes and Investopedia to connect with a young adult demographic and provide a robust, intuitive personal finance experience.
This year’s winner, First Position Instruments, beat out nearly two dozen entrants with their modern approach to instrument manufacturing, minimizing the barrier of entry for new musicians. The NIL Collective came in second as a marketing and branding agency dedicated to helping female college athletes monetize their personal brands.
Honorable mentions went to the other two finalists, PAVANAS, a startup dedicated to increasing Annual Energy Production (AEP) and minimizing maintenance expenditures with their cost-effective, patent-pending tape; and Unstockable, a FinTech financial literacy app targeted towards 18-to 30-year-olds.
The Innovation Challenge is supported by the Kevin and Louella Hundt Trust, Gail Meredith, Keesal, Young & Logan, Fulwider – Patton LLP, Windes accounting firm, and the Colleges of Business, Engineering, and Arts.
Sunstone Management has announced that a six-hour pitch completion involving teams from six California State universities this Friday, May 6, is the culmination of a year-long collaboration of innovation and entrepreneurship leaders.
A six-hour pitch completion involving teams from six California State universities this Friday, May 6, is the culmination of a year-long collaboration of innovation and entrepreneurship leaders.
For free tickets go to https://t.co/gXatKBaq5J. #GoBeach @CSULB_IIE pic.twitter.com/DgmmyFVnAs
— Sunstone Management (@SunstoneMgmt) May 2, 2022
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