On Oct. 17, the Korbell Great Hall in Chapman Center was filled with Trinity University alumni, students and local business people for the final round of the Louis H. Stumberg venture competition.
Five student-led teams presented their business ideas to a panel of five judges as part of the competition this past Thursday. The remaining teams were Allergen Life, FitQuest, LxR Motors, Powerlifting Depth Checker (PDC) and SunGuard Shield. Each team worked for three semesters, including the summer, to reach this point.
Provost Megan Mustain opened the evening by highlighting the work each student put in to compete.
“The reason your teams are here is because you failed fast and learned from it,” Mustain said. “Thank you for succeeding through that failure.”
Jose Mora, sophomore marketing and business analytics and technology (BAT) double-major and co-founder of SunGuard Shield, described the company’s beginnings. Mora noted that the company started as a project for his intro to entrepreneurship class.
“We started this idea as a school project for entrepreneurship one class, and it ended up being a finalist in the final round which was crazy,” Mora said. “We were freshmen last year. We say if we work hard, you can achieve big things, and that’s the demonstration I feel of our hard work.”
After each team presented their ideas, the guests were guided to the Great Hall for a reception with refreshments and to wait for the announcement of the fan favorite award and the overall winner. After a speech by President Vanessa Beasley, the winner and fan favorite was Powerlifting Depth Checker.
Their performance band is built to go on an athlete’s arm or thigh, monitoring their limbs in real-time. This band measures the range of motion, acceleration, repetition, consistency or weaknesses in squats, upper body presses and vertical jumps.
Lindsey Foushee, senior marketing major and co-founder of PDC, mentioned that there was a lot of preparation leading up to the final pitch presentation.
“The day of was really stressful,” Foushee said. “I remember going back home and changing into suit attire after class and everything, and constantly practicing the pitch in my head throughout the day.”
The winning team got the $25,000 presented to them on a large check as well as a key to an office building at Geekdom, a collaborative space downtown where entrepreneurs work on their companies. Foushee noted her initial feelings when PDC was announced as the winner.
“I wanted to stay calm, but I did tear up a little bit. I was really surprised. Seeing the logo on the $25,000 check was a really crazy feeling,” Foushee said.
Starting with the seed round in spring 2024, interested students pitched their ideas to a panel of judges, with five teams receiving a $5,000 prize to further their project for the final round in the fall. Participants also gained the opportunity to join the Trinity Accelerator, a 10-week paid opportunity with free housing where students could connect with community entrepreneurs and business representatives.
While there was only one winner in the competition, students from non-winning teams don’t have to stop working for their company. Nathan Ashworth, junior BAT major, is the founder of AllergenLife, an app that helps people with food allergies find restaurants that accommodate their dietary needs. Ashworth mentioned that he will continue to improve his company beyond the Stumberg competition.
“Just because it was a competition,doesn’t mean I don’t believe in the idea,” Ashworth said. “I’m building the app for myself, and I figure if I would be willing to use it, then other people surely would be willing to use it.”
Ashworth was the only finalist who didn’t have a teammate. He noted that while he received help from others, the process can be more enjoyable on a team.
“It’s a lot more fun on a fun team,” Ashworth said. “Being just one person, it’s a lot harder to think critically about potential problems.”
A common theme throughout the night of the final competition was the rejection students faced during the process. Antoniya Deleva, sophomore mathematical finance major and founder of SunGuard Shield, noted that she faced rejection during the Stumberg journey.
“My advice for future Stumberg people who go through the program is to never give up, even if they don’t win the first round,” Deleva said. “But if you go out there, someone will like it and they could sponsor you and fund you. And you should never give up, just work towards it.”
