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April 28, 2021

Yale entrepreneurs to pitch innovative ideas in startup contest

PHOTO | Pixabay.com
By Natalie Missakian

A painless non-invasive glucose monitor for diabetics. A fertilizer that helps farmers grow more crops on less land more sustainably. A tool to screen for Alzheimer’s disease using speech-based analytics.

These innovations and many more will be aired both live and virtually over the next few days as student-led venture teams pitch their ideas and compete for a total of $125,000 in funding at Startup Yale 2021.

The annual entrepreneurial contest is the largest staged at Yale and runs from Thursday, April 29, through Saturday, May 1. 

The 28 teams will pitch in seven categories that cover areas such as health care, equity, technology, sustainability and civic innovation. 

Yale alumnus Porter Braswell, CEO and co-founder of HR tech platform Jopwell, gives the keynote address at noon Thursday. 

Porter, a 2011 Yale graduate, was named to Inc. Magazine’s “30 Under 30” in 2016, and Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” in 2017. 

His technology helps diverse students and professionals unlock opportunities for career advancement.

Here is a look at the rest of the lineup:

  • Tsai CITY Accelerator pitchoff (Pre-event), Wednesday, 5 p.m. The 15 teams participating in the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale’s (Tsai CITY) Spring 2021 Accelerator will pitch their ideas.
  • New Haven Civic Innovation Prize, Thursday 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Awards up to $10,000 to the best student- or community-led venture or project focused on benefiting the city of New Haven. 
  • Rita Wilson Prize Fund in support of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Friday 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. A $10,000 cash prize awarded by InnovateHealth Yale to the best student-led venture focused on creating a technological solution to address a health disparity in the U.S.
  • Thorne Prize for Social Innovation in Public Health or Education, Friday noon to 2 p.m. A $25,000 cash prize awarded by InnovateHealth Yale to the best student-led venture focused on social innovation in health or education.
  • Miller Prize, Friday 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. A $25,000 cash prize to a promising student-led venture working on innovative tech or tech-enabled solutions.
  • Rothberg Catalyzer Prize @ Yale, Saturday, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Awards $15,000 to the best student-led venture focused on developing an innovative hardware or AI solution to a medical challenge.
  • Sabin Sustainable Venture Prize, Saturday, noon to 2 p.m. Awards $25,000 to a promising student business venture that advances environmental sustainability.
  • Yale Innovators’ Prize, Saturday, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. A $15,000 cash prize to the for-profit or nonprofit startup that has the potential to produce the greatest impact financially, socially or otherwise.

The online events are free and open to the public. Register and find Zoom links HERE. 

Contact Natalie Missakian at news@newhavenbiz.com

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