2022 Stumberg Venture Competition Teams Compete for $25,000

On Tuesday, Oct. 18, six teams of burgeoning student entrepreneurs will embark on the final round of the 2022 Louis H. Stumberg Venture Competition. This event will be held from 3:45–8 p.m. in the Center for the Sciences and Innovation Cube. Both the San Antonio community and the Trinity community are encouraged to join in person, with registration available online. The competition will also be livestreamed on Tiger Network. 

The Stumberg Venture Competition is a yearly event held to give students connections, opportunities, and experience in the world of startups. Additionally, the winning team receives $25,000. This money, from the generous support of the late Louis H. Stumberg, is meant to help teams further develop their product or company.

In order to get to the final round of this year’s competition, teams went through a rigorous process where they pitched their ideas to judges in the Seed Round last spring. After this round, the six teams that were selected were given $5,000 and an opportunity to go through the Summer Accelerator program. During the summer, the teams stayed in Trinity’s residence halls, where they met with alumni consultants, attended business courses, and took steps to make sure their company ran smoothly. 

In the final round of the competition, the groups will present to the judges, immediately followed by a question and answer session. The judges will then deliberate and award one group $25,000 to go toward the development and implementation of their company in the real world. 

The following six teams will be competing in the final round:

FARO: Projects for Global Education

Elena Negron '22, Shelby Atherton ’23, and Rachel Poovathoor ’22

FARO is a social enterprise that addresses the lack of affordable, accessible, and innovative project-based education on global issues at the elementary school-level that meets state education standards. To tackle this issue, FARO provides a detailed project-based curriculum to teachers (by selling to school districts/schools) on urgent subjects to expose students, both on a global and local scale, to these issues and to create innovative solutions, alleviating the work of overburdened teachers.

Pacific Debate Institute

Jean Masini '25 and Nelson Rose ’25

Pacific Debate Institute (PDI) not only inspires a passion for debate among students but also seeks to transform the way debate is taught in education more broadly. Offering purpose-built programs for students, PDI is devoted to providing international students with superior debate skills by connecting them with talented instructors based in the United States.

Range Rehab

Marriana Sayen ’25 and AJ Bishop ’22

The Range Regenerator is a shoulder rehabilitation device that enables people recovering from debilitating shoulder injuries to build their range of motion and strength while minimizing the chance of reinjuring themselves and exacerbating the pain. The device works the internal and external rotation of the shoulder with two arches, one smaller than the other, for patients to progress in their rehabilitation and expand their range of motion.

ReCap

Max Hightower ’24, Alex Garcia ’24, Ashwin Ramesh ’24, and Joey Hersh ’24

ReCap is a mobile app dedicated to assisting users in achieving their saving goals. Once the user sets an objective, the app breaks that objective into easy-to-manage milestones, with tasks and suggested actions that help the user more easily reach their goals. Combining top-of-the-line artificial intelligence with detailed insight into users’ spending allows ReCap to truly understand users’ spending better than any current finance app.

Skelton Musical

Lucas Riley ’23, Paul Kim ’23, Gabriel Ogden ’23, and Alfonso Kamel ’23

Skelton Musical is a metronome worn on the wrist that signals the user through vibration. The beat syncing mode enables the band to match the beat of the music being played, enhancing the learning process of those who struggle to stay in time naturally. Skelton believes the Beat Band can improve the quality of practice for musicians of all instruments and skill levels.

Wherezy

Ellie Curran ’25 and Clara Smartt ’25

Wherezy is creating a safer environment for families with young children through a location-tracking bracelet that serves not only as an extra measure of safety, but also as a fun and customizable fashion accessory. Its principal function is to provide safety against potential kidnappings and peace of mind for parents when their child ventures out into the public while also educating parents and families about ways to protect their kids.