An internet-free educational device, AI workplace safety vehicles and an innovative recipe app are among the ideas to be pitched by local tech startups at The University of Toledo’s Pitch & Pour.
One of northwest Ohio’s largest entrepreneurial competitions, the University’s Business Incubator pitch competition is returning Thursday, Nov. 17, after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic, with five regional entrepreneurs battling for more than $17,000 in business funding.
One of northwest Ohio’s largest entrepreneurial competitions, the University’s Business Incubator pitch competition is returning Nov. 17 after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic, with five regional entrepreneurs battling for more than $17,000 in business funding.
The free, public event begins at 5 p.m. in the Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex on Main Campus.
Competitors will have five minutes to pitch their concepts to a judging panel of local entrepreneurs, tech experts and investors.
This year’s teams at the Pitch & Pour event are:
• Dishtory. The application allows users to record, save and share family members’ recipes in their own voice, so they can create, plate and curate home-cooked creations with the people who matter most.
• Learn Kernel. This sustainable, compact, rechargeable, tablet-like device aids in internet-free distribution of educational video content to locations experiencing economic instability, environmental crisis or other adversity.
• NexFence. This patented, composite fence base was designed to increase the lifespan of wooden posts by making them resistant to moisture, rot, decay and other possible failures.
• Opendemia. The digital platform was created to help students with research papers by providing a single location to save notes, autogenerate in-text citations, cite full works, create research outlines and collaborate on group projects.
• Robotic Maintenance Vehicles. This start-up has revolutionized the construction industry by developing an AI-integrated robotic vehicle to increase workplace safety and make road maintenance more efficient and cost-effective.
The judging panel consists of Dr. Liang Cheng, professor and chair in the Department of Electrical Engineering; Bill Baumel, venture capitalist with more than 20 years in Silicon Valley; Diane Durance, executive vice president of Michigan Capital Network; Linda L. Fayerweather, small business specialist librarian for the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library; and Nick Komives, Toledo city councilmember whose work focuses on affordable housing, climate justice and infrastructure.
All competitors are invited to join UToledo’s Business Incubator program, which nurtures innovation in northwest Ohio by providing access to capital, professional advising, resources and frameworks crucial to success.
Pre-registration for the event is required. For more information and to register, visit the Pitch & Pour website.
