Five student startups were granted $7,000 each after the seed round of the 12th annual Louis H. Stumberg New Venture Competition. On Feb. 27, Trinity students presented their business ideas to approximately 90 students, staff and community members.
A panel of judges, including Stephanie Guerra, Loretta Williams Gurnell, Scott Gray, Andrew M. Anguiano and Gavin Buchanan, decided on five. Megan Mustain, provost and vice president of academic affairs, announced the winners during the reception at Dicke Hall. The winners are as listed in the box below.
Tasuke Prep is led by Max Moody-Wood, sophomore marketing and advertising double-major, Ramsey Winowiak, sophomore finance and economics double-major, and Berke Dur, sophomore computer science major. Moody-Wood originally developed the idea during an entrepreneurship class, to which he then reached out to Dur and Winowiak to form a team. The three worked to develop and expand this idea into a legible business proposal.
“My main direction in the future is going to be research, but I still find it interesting that they’re doing a great thing, and I want to contribute and help them build it,” Berke said, reflecting on his reasons for being involved. “I think I’ve embraced the idea more and more after seeing families struggle with the same thing that we’re trying to sell.”
The wider San Antonio community recognizes the Stumberg competition as an opportunity for students to bring their ideas to life with the mentorship and support of the university. Carmen Aramanda, director of Trinity’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, has been involved in the competition since its inception in 2016. The competition is meant to showcase current students’ work to prospective first-year students, showing them what they could do at Trinity, she said.
“It’s important for the Trinity community to come together,” Aramanda said. “When you go to each other’s art shows, theatre productions or sporting events, you’re there because you’re team Trinity. So it’s also helped build the culture of the campus.”
The five teams will now move on to the final round, planned for the fall semester. In the meantime, they will also be participating in Trinity’s summer incubator, in which the teams will receive on-campus housing, 40-hour per week salaries and take part in networking, fundraising and development for their startups.
*This story was updated on March 19.
