UK Venture Studio Entrepreneur’s Bootcamp Finale is Tomorrow
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 29, 2016) — The University of Kentucky’s Venture Studio Bootcamp Program is wrapping up the year tomorrow, Wednesday, Nov. 30, with a final pitch competition.
The fall 2016 bootcamp enrolled 80 participants, from various colleges across campus, in addition to community entrepreneurs in Lexington. The 12 teams pitching on Wednesday are:
Team Name Team Lead/Founder
Re-Vision Ann Morris, faculty, Department of Biology
I-Remember Marissa Wilson, graduate student, College of Design
OpenEddi Kate Eddens, faculty, College of Public Health
Welcome Home Kai Zhang, graduate student, College of Medicine
SynBio Joe Chappell, faculty, College of Pharmacy
Stillage Solutions Steve Lipka, associate director, Center for Applied Energy Research
GreatJob! Josh Cochran, undergraduate student, Gatton College
Altelier Shylo Shepherd, Community Project
Local Language Melody Ryan and Hartley Feld, faculty, Colleges of Pharmacy and Nursing
MiniPantry Ila McEntire, editing supervisor, University Press of Kentucky
UniSoftware Bill Chen and Tom Johnston, Executive Vice President Finance and Administration Office
Heat Map App Nate Antetomaso and Trey Miller, undergraduates, Gatton College
The event will be held in the Venture Studio (room 124 of the Gatton College of Business and Economics building) and begins at 8:30 a.m. Each team will make five-to-10-minute presentations to a panel of judges. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top five teams:
- first place: $1,000
- second place: $800
- third place: $600
- fourth place: $400
- fifth place: $200
The Bootcamp Program finale is free and open to UK faculty, staff and students who want to show their support for these teams.
The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship will host the bootcamp graduation from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, in the Venture Studio. The check awards will be made then, and lunch will be provided to celebrate the teams and their completion of the program.
Mariam Gorjian, commercialization specialist for the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship in the Gatton College, and Warren Nash, executive director of the Von Allmen Center and the Lexington Office of the Kentucky Innovation Network said, ““We’re very proud of the Bootcamp Program and the exponential growth of participation this year. We piloted the program in 2015 and had 60 people enroll for non-academic credit. This year, we grew that number to 80 participants and are seeing incredible interest and opportunity for the start-up community, both on and off campus. We invite all departments and deans to join us for the bootcamp finale and the bootcamp graduation. It is quite inspiring to see people take an idea and create something exciting.”
Faculty member and bootcamp team leader for OpenEddi, Kate Eddens, added, “Bootcamp has been an incredible experience. I’ve learned new skills in business and marketing, as well as how to take an idea to market. We’ve all met some wonderful people including UK mentors and entrepreneurs in the local community. And, I’ve continued to develop my ability to sell my idea through pitching, which is a skill not only useful for entrepreneurs, but also for scientists to describe what we do to an audience other than the science community.”