A web platform that connects students with side businesses to the broader marketplace took home first prize at Georgetown Entrepreneurship’s annual Bark Tank Pitch Competition.
UHustle came out on top and won $30,000 at the contest following a pitch by co-founders Christy Felix and Benjamin Ogbonna II. The startup created a platform helping connect potential customers to student micro-entrepreneurs across campus.
“I am truly in awe that UHustle won the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize," Felix said in a statement. "We recognized that students today have difficulties balancing increasing academic costs and their college careers, which is why we created a platform that makes saving and making money while in college simple, painless, and convenient so students can focus on what matters.”
Held last week at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, the event brought together a dozen student and alumni entrepreneurs to pitch their ventures to a panel of entrepreneurial judges, with $100,000 in combined awards at stake. The panel was led by Ted Leonsis, founder of Monumental Sports and Entertainment and a Georgetown graduate.
Additional recipients of the 2019 prize include:
Globally Unified Air Quality, founded by Simra Ali, Roberto D’Angelo-Cosme, Anna Giaquinto and Neal Singal; and Unveil, founded by Katie Fischer; tied for second place and won $20,000 each.
HealthCare Mobile, founded by Jennie Nwokoye; Prosperity Life Fund, founded by Ariel Fishman; Straw Zero, founded by Julian Davis; SYNC, founded by Omar Al-Alami and VentureLift Africa, founded by Wilmot Allen, each took home $5,000 in third place.
Straw Zero won the People’s Choice Award, which amounted to $5,000.
“It is amazing to see these entrepreneurs develop companies that focus on giving back,” Leonsis said in a statement. “It is important to recognize student entrepreneurs who have created companies that add value to communities.”
In addition to Leonsis, the experts included Homesnap founder Steve Barnes, Monumental Sports CFO Peter Biché, Quad Learning founder Phil Bronner, ThinkFoodGroup CEO Kimberly Grant, Revolution Growth VP Kristen Gunther, Columbia Capital venture partner Arun Gupta, businesses and government advocate Amy Millman and Amazon Web Services Solution CTO Gina Raahauge.
The Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize is supported by Leonsis, his wife Lynn, son Zach (senior VP of strategic initiatives of Monumental Sports) and daughter Elle (digital marketing director of SnagFilms).
Check out a full video of the Thursday night event here.
