SparkTank 2023
Brandeis Innovation's ninth annual SparkTank competition broke the mold this year. With a new format and new energy, the event brought together top student innovators, faculty, staff, and industry experts in a showcase of the best student-led ideas at Brandeis.
The competition was structured differently this year, allowing teams to showcase at tables, connecting with members of the Brandeis innovation ecosystem as well as external guests. This year’s Spark program included three rounds: an information session where all applicants discussed their projects and received feedback, then applied to Spark; an incubator including mentorship/workshop series designed to help the applicants develop their project, and the final pitch, where students had three minutes to explain their project and convince the judges of its potential.
The competition culminated in an awards ceremony where prizes were given out for the top three projects, as well as the audience favorite. The winners received up to $10,000 in funding from Brandeis Innovation to take their projects to the next level. In addition, each team participating received $1,000 to further their ideas.
The SparkTank Competition began with presentations from each of the eleven teams that made it through the rigorous selection process. A panel of five judges, comprised of entrepreneurs and industry professionals, then went through a Q&A session with each team. After the Q&A the judges had to make their pick for the top three teams that they believed could bring their projects to life given the provided resources.
This year's distinguished panel of judges was moderated by Associate Provost for Innovation Rebecca Menapace, and consisted of:
- Sean Rush, Past President, Junior Achievement International
- Mitch Baruchowitz ‘96, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Merida Capital Holdings
- Lysa Miller, Founder, Ladybugz Interactive and MetroWest Women’s Network
- Elizabeth Nguyen, MBA/MA SID'20, Economic Opportunity Practice Lead at Village Capital
- David Chang, Serial Entrepreneur and most recently Director, Babson Summer Venture Program
The top three projects were chosen by a combination of judge’s scores based on how well-developed each team’s business model is, how likely the idea is to become a viable project, and how well the team articulated their value proposition and target audience.
Three prizes were awarded for the teams that demonstrated the most proficiency across those criteria. These are the teams that exhibited the strongest potential to create impactful innovations. The winning teams were:
- Tree for the Taking in first place. This startup works to craft innovatively sustainable guitars and accessories using waste-wood from invasive trees.
- ProjectTee is a customized search engine that helps with finding any clothing items made from sustainable and ethical slow fashion brands, in second place.
- Chasing Stars, a one-stop destination to look for the best stargazing spot, took third place.
- Owly, a peer-to-peer selling app for college students, took the Audience Favorite award.
The other teams showcasing, each of which won $1,000, were:
- Get Started, a comprehensive productivity app for those who have trouble with task initiation.
- MESKEREM, an educational platform that seeks to teach young girls and women how to make their own reusable, biodegradable sanitary pads.
- Pool, a dynamic payments platform that allows the consumer to safely split purchases with any group of people
- Buffr, a payment gateway startup that streamlines payment processes, promotes interoperability, and provides localization and customization of payment services in Namibia.
- TalentPair, a reverse job board allowing startups recruiters to reach out to their desired candidates from a list of well-roundedOwly is an app that enables college students to purchase and sell used items on campus portfolios
- Blockety, a team that is building enterprise applications (DocuSign, Trustpilot) with blockchain authentication via transactions on user actions and an API for customers to build their own blockchain applications
- Caribbean Connect, a facilitator of international trade for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Caribbean
The SparkTank competition serves to foster Brandeis's entrepreneurial spirit, and provide support for aspiring student entrepreneurs. It encourages collaboration between like-minded students and helps them to access resources that would otherwise be difficult to obtain. The funds awarded are intended not only as a reward but also to get the winners’ projects off the ground and ensure their success. "Spark is a community of innovators,” said Spark Program Manager Juan Giraldo. “We are here to make sure that anyone who has an idea is able to move it forward and have the resources to do so."
At the conclusion of the competition, Associate Provost Menapace offered parting words of encouragement to the teams, and encouraged attendees to apply in the Fall for the 2023 - 2024 cohort. Spark will return in the Fall semester with an idea pitch event, information sessions, and other programming. Interested students, faculty, and staff can sign up to be notified of upcoming opportunities.
"Spark is such an important part of the Brandeis innovation ecosystem. Our goal is to continue to inspire students and help them achieve their entrepreneurial goals," said Rebecca. "We are proud of the work they’ve done, and we look forward to seeing what comes next from these talented teams as they develop their ideas."
