Innovation Challenge pitch competition is Dec. 4

A dozen teams of young entrepreneurs seeking $10,000 in prize money will be pitching their innovative business concepts to a panel of judges at the UMass Innovation Challenge Executive Summary and Elevator Pitch competition on Tuesday, Dec. 4 at 3:30 p.m. in the Student Union's Cape Cod Lounge.
 
Competitors are interdisciplinary student/alumni teams working with faculty members and external advisors. For example:

• Team Green Latrine offers a solution for sustainable global sanitation, a latrine that purifies waste water at the same time as it produces electricity and compost for rural communities in the developing world.
• Team GoDo is a software application that connects people who have similar interests and, in turn, expands their network of friends and entertainment options.
• Team Rat Pack provides behavioral testing equipment for research laboratories.

During the competition, each team leader will present a pitch to a panel of judges. After hearing from all the teams, the judges will deliberate and announce the awardees at around 6:45 p.m. This will be followed by a networking reception.

Since 2005, the UMass Innovation Challenge has provided more than $482,000 in awards to 56 different student-led teams. It is designed to help current students and young alumni who have innovative business ideas to develop business plans and move products closer to market.
 
The Innovation Challenge is supported entirely with private funds donated by Eugene M. and Ronnie Isenberg and the following sponsors: Wolf Greenfield; Saint Gobain; Cantor Colburn LLP; CISCO; Raytheon; Saul Ewing; Vistagy; Stephen Dunne ‘89; anonymous faculty donor; Provenance Venture Partners; Michael Tunstall ’82, and Karen Lauter Utgoff Consulting.