2019 CEBIdea Pitch Competition
Monday October 28th, 2019
Watch Live Recording
WINNERS
1st Place
Nick Marsteller
Citrous is an organic beverage company that handcrafts signature lemon-based drinks using only lemon, water and fresh herbs. Citrous builds consumer trust with a transparent process, simple ingredients and no artificial flavors or sweeteners.
2nd Place
Rachel Johnson
Cocktail Without Compromise is a premium canned cocktail made with all natural ingredients and no artificial sweeteners, creating a low calorie drink while delivering the complex flavor of a craft beverage.
3rd Place
Daniel Snyder
Daedalus Drones is a search and rescue drone designed to save lives utilizing RFID microchips using signal amplification and geolocating technology. The drone locates, assists and directs search teams for missing persons in cases of natural disasters or accidents.
FINALISTS
Cocktail Without Compromise is a premium canned cocktail made with all natural ingredients and no artificial sweeteners, creating a low calorie drink while delivering the complex flavor of a craft beverage.
Daedalus Drones is a search and rescue drone designed to save lives utilizing RFID microchips using signal amplification and geolocating technology. The drone locates, assists and directs search teams for missing persons in cases of natural disasters or accidents.
SpotLife is an apartment-finding solution tailored to college students to fit every student’s unique need. Utilizing their major, class locations and personal preferences, SpotLife finds the perfect home away from home.
Eduverse is a digital college ID that replaces the physical card providing efficiency through built-in security, instant access to funds and automated student attendance. Built using Artificial Intelligence, Eduverse brings a new wave of technology to student life.
Transparency is the first simulated stock trading application with a database of historical examples and data analytics to help everyday traders create winning strategies.
Sugar and Spice is a subscription baking business that delivers necessary tools, ingredients and instructions to your door to make a delicious homemade creation.
Soseme is a study abroad app that enhances the experience of exploring a new city through safety, efficiency and organization. As a resource for travel, Soseme provides valuable information via social media.
Citrous is an organic beverage company that handcrafts signature lemon-based drinks using only lemon, water and fresh herbs. Citrous builds consumer trust with a transparent process, simple ingredients and no artificial flavors or sweeteners.
Just Coffee makes coffee a daily urban experience for all by using a pop-up coffee bike that only serves freshly roasted and brewed high-quality coffee. The company’s mission is to make sure everyone can afford a good cup of coffee in their neighborhood.
JUDGES
ABOUT THE CEBIDEA PITCH
Pitch Your Idea for Funding
The Kent State College of Business Administration’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation is now offering a fall pitch competition for students who have an idea. The CEBIdea competition creates an opportunity for students to receive mentoring and feedback on their business idea, as well as win seed money. Ten finalists will pitch to a panel of judges on Monday, October 8. All finalists will win a cash prize, and the first-place winner will earn a guaranteed spot as a CEBIpitch finalist in the spring.
Presenting Sponsor:
Ohio Innovation Fund (OIF) is a venture capital firm based in Columbus, Ohio whose member institutions include Kent State University, The Ohio State University and Ohio University. The OIF team has turned ideas into over $10 billion of market value, including several Initial Public Offerings and acquisitions by SAP, Medtronic, Dell, Intuit and Stryker. OIF's companies have been featured in prominent media outlets such as CNN, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. Many Fortune 500 companies and leading universities are customers of OIF’s portfolio, and their strategic partners include Microsoft, Facebook, Citi and SAP, among others. Combined revenue growth was approximately 100 percent between 2016 and 2017 for OIF’s portfolio.
PRIZE MONEY
TBD
1st place winner has a guaranteed spot in the 2020 CEBIpitch Competition.
Application Process Details
Submit idea online: submit your idea
Deadline for online application:
Semi-finalists notified:
Semi-finalists present 2-minute pitch:
10 finalists notified:
Mentoring process for finalists
Live pitch: 10/28 @ 4 p.m.
LEARN MORE
CEBIdea Pitch Infosession
About the Ohio Innovation Fund
Bill Baumel oversees all operations of The Ohio Innovation Fund (OIF), a venture capital firm based in Columbus, Ohio. OIF has the largest early-stage venture capital portfolio of Ohio-based companies. Member institutions include Kent State University, The Ohio State University and Ohio University. OIF’s companies have been featured in prominent media such as CNN, Forbes and The Wall Street Journal. Many of the Fortune 500 and leading universities are customers of OIF’s portfolio companies, and their strategic partners include Microsoft, Facebook, Citi, and SAP, among others. Combined revenue growth was approximately 100% between 2016 and 2017 for OIF’s portfolio.
Turning "Bold Ideas" into thriving enterprises is what OIF partners with entrepreneurs to accomplish. One such bold idea was from a diabetic, who each night worried that they might not wake up in the morning because their glucose levels may go too low overnight, and the only diabetic testing was periodic finger pricks. Out of that bold idea came Dexcom and its continuous glucose monitor, which provides a glucose reading to diabetics' mobile devices every five minutes. A great step forward for diabetics, and a company now worth over $10 billion. This could be you!
OIF fosters commercialization efforts at KSU, OSU, and OU through appointments to university's Accelerator Award Committees, sponsoring internship programs, career linkage among member schools’ students/alumni and OIF companies, speaking engagements, mentoring of faculty members, incubating faculty start-ups, and guest course, panel, and business plan competition participation.
With more than twenty years of experience investing in Silicon Valley, and close ties with a significant network of key Silicon Valley leaders, Bill has spent his career investing in venture capital-backed emerging growth companies. Awarded Venture 100 status as one of the top 100 VC’s in the United States, with successful exits via multiple Initial Public Offerings and acquisitions by companies such as Medtronic, Dell, SAP, Intuit, and Stryker. Areas of focus include SaaS, Big Data, Cyber Security, Med Tech, and Advanced Manufacturing. Having served as a CEO, COO and CFO of successful public and private companies, he understands what it takes to build and scale a leading company in a high growth market.
Contact Us
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SHAWN ROHLIN, PH.D.
Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation and Associate Professor,
Economics
srohlin@kent.edu -