March Madness is down to Six Startup Business Teams
Twelve outstanding student-led teams, representing the Harbert College of Business, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Human Sciences, the College of Agriculture, and the College of Architecture, Design and Construction, pitched their business ideas before industry professional judges on Friday February 23, at the Harbert College of Business. The six teams selected to advance to the March 29 Tiger Cage finals round, listed in alphabetical order, are shown below:
AbGlo
A fitness device that corrects lumbar position during core strength exercises through visual and sensory feedback. AbGlo strengthens muscles deep within the core to significantly alleviate low back pain and improve fitness outcomes. (Holli Michaels, Courtney Montague; Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Marianne Madsen; external.)
Early Bird
EarlyBird is a groundbreaking product with a user-friendly side-mounted push-point that activates rapid interior heating. It is a single-use canned beverage (coffee, tea, or hot chocolate) that heats up faster than a Keurig and is more affordable than a coffee shop. Through extensive prototyping, the sixth iteration prototype demonstrated that the beverage could reach a perfect 170 degrees within minutes, all while the can’s insulating coating prevents burns. This innovation allows for a hot beverage anytime, anywhere – think of it as carrying your Keurig with you. (Thomas Lester; Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Eugene Asante, College of Liberal Arts.)
Focus Friends
A membership-based platform designed to address the underserved adult ADHD and ADD community. Focus Friends aims to revolutionize ADHD support by empowering individuals, fostering community, and providing a one-of-a-kind platform to enhance the lives of adults with ADHD and ADD. (Abby Stansell; Harbert College of Business.)
Mammoth Super Sod
Is introducing a natural grass that can stand up to drought, contains an efficient irrigation system system that can reduce up to 70% in water usage, serve as a fire barrier for homes, and produce safer sod for players. The environmental benefits of super sod include carbon sequestration, oxygen production, groundwater replenishment, and pollutant filtration. (Chera Howard; College of Agriculture.)
Pals Palette Productions
Transforms the way the public perceives and uses discarded pallets, addressing the current problem of millions of pallets ending up in landfills each year. This waste not only poses environmental concerns but also prevents the potential of this wood to be functional and appreciated. Pals Palettes will transform discarded pallets into beautiful, functional art that makes a positive impact on the world. (Luke Dixon; College of Architecture, Design and Construction.)
ROME
Roller to Optimize Material Efficiency” (ROME), is an innovative solution addressing the labor-intensive and physically tolling task of laying materials in diverse industries. The flagship product, the CowPaw, is an ergonomic device specifically designed to streamline the process of laying paper in poultry farms. The problem at hand is prevalent in poultry farming, where manually laying paper along feed and water lines is a time-consuming and physically demanding task. (Alex Washburn, Jordan Snyder, Emily Glaze, Mandy McCutchin, Madie Robinson; Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.)
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Other semifinal teams who were outstanding and deserving of special recognition are:
The Digital Athlete
The Digital Athlete is a data-driven solution to provide users objective information of their movement. Athletes can upload a short video or wearable data of their activity to the ChatGPT-like model, such as “RunGPT” which analyzes their biomechanics and provides feedback on their movement quality, exercise recommendations, and footwear recommendations personalized to the athlete’s movement signature. (Allison Tanner; Harbert College of Business, David Hollinger, David Edmonson, Avinash Baskaran, Qi Li, Muhammad Gulfam; Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.)
Dream EV
DreamEV is revolutionizing the electric vehicle (EV) charging landscape with its visionary concept of Mobile EV Chargers. These chargers aim to eliminate the common concern of “range anxiety” among EV owners by providing on-demand charging at convenient locations. The user-friendly mobile application allows drivers to schedule the charger to meet them at specific destinations or strategic points along their routes, transforming EV charging into a seamless part of their daily routines. (Mayur Basu, Patrick Haney, Mohammed Rayyan Husain, Nisham Thapa; Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.)
Elixa Industries
Features a fully automated graphene conversion process. Graphene is a material which boasts strengths more than 500x that of steel, conductivity so powerful there is virtually no energy loss in transmission, and the potential to solve the world’s carbon waste problems. (Leo Hall; Harbert College of Business, Sri Kallam; College of Liberal Arts.)
Glory EV: Empowering Electric Mobility
Offers a groundbreaking self-sustaining EV charging solution. Their modular charging stations operate independently from the grid, eliminating the need for expensive and time-consuming grid upgrades. Their self-sustaining charging stations are reliable, accessible, affordable, and sustainable, making them an ideal choice for a variety of applications. (Olkaris Marandu; Harbert College of Business, Colin Myles; College of Liberal Arts.)
Menu Match
A mobile application that curates restaurant and menu item recommendations for people who are impacted by food allergies, food intolerances, and dietary restrictions that fit their dietary needs in a more credible and streamlined way. (Jessica Bloodsworth; Harbert College of Business, Kristty Bondurant; College of Human Sciences, Merrell Bowdon; external.)
Patella Protector
An adjustable kneepad, fitted to your knee that is targeted to prevent bruised knees or worse injuries from occurring. Many athletes, most notable volleyball players, suffer from the lack of knee protection due to inadequate coverage that traditional knee pads provide. The Patella Protector will be revolutionary in the world of volleyball and in the safety of the players. (Sophia Aulisio; Harbert College of Business.)
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In its tenth year, the Tiger Cage business pitch competition discovers and rewards early-stage products, services or business concepts that emerge from Auburn University students. Recent success stories include, Vulcan Line Tools, Room2Room Movers, Dropllel, Archangel Defense, OMNIS, Flashtract, Yellow Card, and Tennibot.
The Tiger Cage finals will be held on March 29 in the Broadway Event Space and Theater located in Horton-Hardgrave Hall. There, teams will compete for $80,000 in early-stage startup capital.
Special recognition and appreciation go to the judges who supported the semifinal round: David Gray, Liz Read, Delphine Carter, Jason Wilson, Tim Denison, Mark Waisle, Christa Cotton, Pam Oldham, Ron Schier, Kelly Brown, and Ralph Runge.
Please contact Lou Bifano to learn more about the Tiger Cage business idea pitch competition as well as the broad array of services provided by the New Venture Accelerator that are available to those who may need help starting a new business or growing an existing one.