NEW YORK – On Thursday, Feb. 16, the BIG EAST Conference will host the 2023 BIG EAST Startup Challenge, a competition featuring innovations and products from teams of student entrepreneurs representing all 11 Conference institutions. The competition returns virtually on zoom and will take place from 6 – 8:30 p.m. ET.
Each Startup Challenge team is comprised of currently enrolled undergraduate students at one of the 11 BIG EAST institutions. Teams will present their pitches to judges, who will rank them on a variety of factors including: idea/concept; market need; value proposition; feasibility; and passion and presentation.
The top three teams will receive an honorarium to be used to help grow their startup business.
The judges are seasoned entrepreneurs, innovators, venture capitalists and business leaders, A few have ties to BIG EAST institutions. Judges include:
- Brandon Andrews, Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of Gauge
- Dawn Crouch, Managing Director at Deloitte Global
- Wes Day, Partner and Deal Management, TEALL Capital
- Scott Powell, Analyst, SeventySix Capital
- Kristy Wallace, Advisor, Gabbi, MINO, Hooky Wellness and The Fourth Floor
The event will be MC'd by Meghan Caffrey of the BIG EAST Digital Network. The event is open to all who are interested and registration is online at
www.BIGEAST.com/startupchallenge.
The BIG EAST will welcome Seton Hall alumna Beatriz Manetta as a guest speaker to the event. Manetta holds a master's degree in international business from Seton Hall University, where she received the Beta Gama Sigma Award for contributing significantly to the vitality and strength of the economy, combining business achievement with service to humanity. Under the helm of Manetta as President and CEO, Argent Associates was launched in 1998 and Asociar in 2012. Both Argent Associates and Asociar have built a reputation by having and maintaining an impeccable reputation for quality and work ethic as well as working towards exceeding customer expectations in all they do.
Team entries are below:
| School |
Project Name |
Entrepreneurs |
| Butler |
Athletes Mental Playbook |
Emma Evanko |
| Connecticut |
SmartCards AR, LLC |
Justin Nappi, Sudiksha Mallick |
| Creighton |
Kookaburra Cookies |
Eli Vedral |
| DePaul |
Cultivate |
Frida Hernandez, Valerie Sanchez, Roi Lavi |
| Georgetown |
Seros |
Brendan Foody |
| Marquette |
The Good Vibes Club |
Rebecca Odeh |
| Providence |
Posted |
Daniel Carrero, Alexandra Delano, Shayne Tyrer |
| St. John's |
Mentalligence |
Radiah Jamil |
| Seton Hall |
Healio Mental Health Chatbot |
Siddhant Kapoor, Cameron Tower |
| Villanova |
Now |
Jake Coppen, Jacob Beaudin, Andrew Monreal |
| Xavier |
RateMyCollegeLandlord.com |
Jack Reisig |
Georgetown's Gracey Owen won the third annual BIG EAST Startup Challenge a year ago with her innovation "Compost'd LLC." Under Owen's concept, she created a simple solution to composting with a freezable container to minimize issues left behind from mishandled food waste.
The BIG EAST hosted the inaugural Startup Challenge in 2019. Xavier's Casey Smith won for his venture transFarm. The event was held in conjunction with the BIG EAST Men's Basketball Tournament. The 2020 Startup Challenge was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the winners of the challenge were Owen Delaney, Jacquelyn Ryan and Faith Linscott from Providence College with their innovation: "Umeal."
To join the conversation on social media follow
#BIGEASTstartupchallenge.
To tune in, visit
HERE.