Six student teams have been selected as semifinalists for the annual Tulane Business Model Competition. The now national competition awards over $40,000 in cash prizes to university-based startups and early-stage ventures that demonstrate high growth potential and a market-tested ability to adapt to customer needs.
Each team will have 10 minutes to pitch in front of a panel of judges in the qualifying round in March 23 at New Orleans Entrepreneur Week (NOEW). Three of the six teams will advance to the final round in April.
“Year after year, the level of competition for the Tulane Business Model Competition continues to impress,” said Ira Solomon, dean of the Freeman School. “We’re all looking forward to hearing these six outstanding teams pitch their ideas as they vie for a spot in the final round.”
The last team standing will go on to compete in the International Business Model Competition in California, taking home a $25,000 prize as well.
Meet the semifinalists below:
- Bhoomi Cane Water (Tulane University) develops “cane water” based beverages, which are rich in healthy nutritional elements. Bhoomi Cane Water is made by cold pressing sugarcane.
- CMDX Biopsy (Tulane University) is a fully automated biopsy device for use in clinical settings. This device replaces traditional punch biopsy procedures by automatically removing skin samples from patients with skin lesions or possible melanomas.
- Kaleyedos (Johns Hopkins University) provides a telemedicine solution to Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), a retinal disease that affects premature infants. If left untreated, it can cause visual impairment and blindness.
- Kulisha (Brown University) offers a wastewater treatment solution for food and beverage processing plants that converts organic bio solid waste products into a sustainable insect-based protein for use in animal feeds and an agricultural fertilizer.
- Managr (Tulane University) is an organizational hub that allows small business owners to easily manage all the online tools businesses need from one, easy-to-use site.
- Instapath Bioptics (Tulane University) has developed an imaging technology for interventional radiologists that halves pathology evaluation time for biopsy procedures.