Student teams from across the university participate in the 24th annual HopStart: Hopkins New Venture Challenge on Friday, April 26, at the Inn at the Colonnade, north of Johns Hopkins’ Homewood campus. competed for a prize of $45,000. Competitors began preparing for the event in mid-February, including creating complete business plans and receiving feedback from industry experts.
55 teams pitched their startup ideas. Among them are a Baltimore-based harm reduction program created by a team of Clark Scholars, a versatile software-based thermal solution for satellite manufacturing, and a port system for fetal treatment procedures in his two installments of the event. and so on. round of competition. More than 20 judges, many of them Johns Hopkins alumni, evaluated these pitches and selected first, second and third place winners in each of the competition’s four divisions. Pava Center for Entrepreneurship, A-Level Capital, and HopStone Capital sponsored additional awards.
Kelly Schultz, CEO of the Maryland Technology Council, delivered the keynote address at the HopStart awards ceremony. Schultz highlighted Maryland’s dynamic technology industry and encouraged competitors to continue working on their startups and tap into the state’s startup ecosystem.
“This year’s HopStart contest was a huge success in every way,” said Len Foxwell, director of HopStart and instructor in the Whiting School of Engineering Leadership Education Center, event organizer. “We had more contestants, leaders and judges than last year. The presentations were the best I have ever seen and the positive energy of the day was something you would have to experience to believe. Hop Start 2024 was a success and we are already making plans.”Next year’s competition will ensure that HopStart truly represents the connection between education, innovation and entrepreneurship, making an even bigger impact. I look forward to it. ”
Teams from the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Peabody Institute, and Whiting School of Engineering won awards in the competition’s four main categories: General Venture I and II, Medical Technology and Life Sciences I and II. The first place team earned him $5,000, the second place team earned him $3,000, and the third place team earned him $1,000.
Hop Start Winners
General Ventures I: Team KaraOrchee is an online platform dedicated to bringing together a diverse community of musicians, music lovers, and non-musicians to enable everyone to experience the magic of music. Team members: Xiaoyu Jackson Guan, Zheyu Crystal Jiang, Rishitha Kalicheti, Qinyuan Justin Liu.
General Ventures II: Team SQUID3 Space is a software-definable thermal solution for rapid and responsive satellite development. Team members: Dustin Horta, Brian Huang, Warren Hsu.
Medical technology/life science venture I: Team OcuSound is a home-use intraocular pressure sensor that detects the progression of glaucoma. Team members: Maria Giannakopoulos, Alex Kromov, Hyun So Lee, Elliot Leow, Ben Miller, Ashish Nara, Valerie Wong, Nancy Yang.
Medical technology/life science venture II: Team SinuStim is a wearable, portable neuromodulation device for the treatment of chronic sinusitis. Team members: Abhiram Cherkupari, Sandhya Tiku, Roanne Yehia.
Pava Entrepreneurship Center Award
ARE Board of Directorsis an inexpensive alternative to digital whiteboards with an integrated conveyor belt that seamlessly stores notes and an adjustable eraser bracket that automatically cleans the writing surface on command. Team members: Jim Lee, Jason Ahn, Isaac Mikanata, Andrew Chan.
Glyph AIis a platform that seeks to overcome inequities in medical communication by using automatically generated images to translate hospital discharge information. Team members: Peyton Barnes, Austin Dye, Rinika Goel, Sofia Hibner, Sangeeta Koirada, William Sun, Ria Thakur, Samhita Vasu.
silk snare, a bio-based alternative to plastic fishing nets, developed from silk material. Team members: Justin Blumenthal, Alex Dong, Siyona Mishra, Nicolas Perez, Lucy Wu, Sophia Hsu.
Sinustim (as mentioned above)
Each team received $500.
Hopstone Capital Award
Renewalve, a wearable device that modifies gait in diabetic neuropathy patients by providing sensory feedback. Team members: Rida Amjed, Sainkhuu Enkh-Otgon, Shirley Lin, Fujia Zheng
schedule wizard, a platform that provides optimized schedules for high schools and middle schools that meet state, district, and individual school requirements. Team members: Abu Hamimi and Sam Obari.
Each team received $3,000.
A Level Capital Award
BanzaiIt is a self-applying, disposable, non-electronic wearable that can automatically detect fatal opioid overdoses and administer the antidote, naloxone. Team members: Asher Varon.
Vive received $1,000.
