Contact: Stephanie Zombek
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SAN LUIS OBISPO — Three student startup teams split $30,000 at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s (CIE) annual Innovation Quest (iQ), a high-stakes competition where Cal Poly students pitch their innovative business ideas to a panel of judges in the hopes of winning funding for their startups.
The startup ODIN, which is creating a portable headset with ocular tracking technology that rapidly and accurately diagnoses concussions, received the first-place prize of $15,000 at the event, which took place April 27 on campus, with awards presented later at a local venue.
ODIN includes five seniors: Cory Garlinghouse, an industrial engineering major from Scotts Mills, Oregon; biomedical engineering student James Bell and Connor Heffler, who is studying economics, both of San Diego; computer engineering student Wilman Li of Tracy, California; and business administration major Jack Denger of Bellevue, Washington.
“Winning iQ meant a lot to me and my team, because we’ve been putting in the work since January. This $15,000 will go a long way,” said ODIN CEO and co-founder, Jeremy Tai of Los Angeles.
They intend to use the cash prize to further develop ODIN and “make this company a reality,” said Tai, a business administration junior with a concentration in entrepreneurship.
The second-place prize of $10,000 went to GamRewired, a mobile app aimed at replacing a person’s gambling addiction with healthy habits, created by business administration seniors Austin Hatfield of San Clemente, California, and Camille Boiteux of San Francisco, as well as computer science and business administration senior Diana Koralski of Redmond, Washington.
GamRewired intends to participate in the Summer Accelerator program this year.
“It feels pretty good winning second place in iQ, but I think what means the most about this is that my best friend has a gambling addiction — so it gets us further to being able to help who we want to help,” said Hatfield, GamRewired’s co-founder.
The third-place $5,000 award went to The Infantry, a single-use device aimed at creating a safer alternative for mothers and their infants during shoulder dystocia complications from vaginal births. The startup includes biomedical engineering seniors Rachel Rowe of Bellevue, Washington; Madeline Mumford of Snoqualmie, Washington; Jenna Eissmann of Reno, Nevada; and Brittany Trinh of San Gabriel, California.
“I’m beyond thrilled to have this opportunity to develop my company.” said co-founder Mumford. “My team has already started talking about what we are going to do with the money, and we are so excited to continue developing.”
Fourteen finalists pitched their innovative ideas in Cal Poly’s Nash Family Entrepreneurship Lab. The event’s banquet and awards ceremony were held at Rod and Hammer Rock, located about six miles south of campus, later that evening.
Penny Lane Case, past iQ participant and CEO and co-founder of Nexstera Tech, spoke at the banquet about her experience in iQ, the Summer Accelerator program and her live pitch at AngelCon. The company, which aims to shape the future with AI-driven radar technology by pinpointing lithium-ion battery risks within waste, took first and $165,000 among the six teams competing at the annual AngelCon Pitch Competition, held May 2.
iQ was founded in 2004 by Cal Poly electrical engineering graduates and business leaders Carson Chen, Richard Boberg and Laura Pickering. Since its launch, iQ participants have received over $400,000 that has helped launch several successful businesses, such as iFixIt, Liftgator and Alydia Health.
“I was really impressed by all the teams today,” said Dr. Thomas Katona, CIE academic director. “It’s the first year since I’ve been here that, at the end of the day, I had no idea who was going to win. It was a great competition, really competitive, and they did a great job.”
About the Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:
The CIE opens a world of entrepreneurial opportunities to Cal Poly students, faculty and community members, and promotes entrepreneurial activity and dialogue across the university and throughout San Luis Obispo County. For more information, visit https://cie.calpoly.edu/.
Top Photo:
Cal Poly Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Innovation Quest 2024 participants at Rod and Hammer Rock on April 27. Three student startup teams split $30,000 at the annual high-stakes competition where Cal Poly students pitch their innovative business ideas to a panel of judges in the hopes of winning funding for their startups. Fourteen finalists pitched their innovative ideas in Cal Poly’s Nash Family Entrepreneurship Lab. The event’s banquet and awards ceremony were held at Rod and Hammer Rock, located about six miles south of campus, later that evening.
Cal Poly CIE photo
