Twelve teams from the student track and 10 teams from the alumni, faculty and staff track are advancing to the semifinal round of the University of Delaware’s 2018 Hen Hatch startup funding competition.

More than 70 teams from all seven colleges submitted applications for one of the Mid-Atlantic’s largest venture competitions, in which winners are awarded $100,000 in cash and in-kind services.

“These 22 Hen Hatch semifinal teams encompass UD’s engaged and accomplished undergraduate students, graduate students, alumni, faculty and staff,” said Vince DiFelice, assistant professor and venture support lead with UD’s Horn Entrepreneurship. “They represent a diverse background of like-minded and impressive individuals and come from across the state of Delaware. Horn Entrepreneurship is more than happy to guide and advise these motivated entrepreneurs.”

Student teams will pitch their business concepts at the Venture Development Center on Friday, March 16, and alumni, faculty and staff teams on Friday, March 23, to a panel of judges, who will decide which teams compete in the final round on April 24.

Student team profiles

AndAgain: AndAgain is an apparel company with a sustainable focus developing exclusive merchandise through collaborations with artists and other small brands. This team includes Morgan Young, College of Arts and Sciences, Class of 2018, and Greg Harder, Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, Class of 2018.

Bookbandit: BookBandit is a web based and mobile application offering textbooks from over 20 vendors, in one checkout, creating savings as high as 74% per year. James Jannuzzio, Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, Class of 2017, developed this concept.

D150 Fueling: D150 Fueling sends a custom-built fleet fueling truck with a trained fleet fueling professional to the customers’ vehicle lot, at the time and frequency of their choosing. The company can then fuel the customer’s vehicles directly to their tank, eliminating employee downtime associated with refueling, and provide customers with complete and accurate records of their fuel usage. This team includes Bailey O'Brien, College of Engineering, Class of 2018; Samuel Bacharach, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2019; and Amedeo DeLuca, College of Engineering, Class of 2018, developed this concept.

Homeo: HOMEO brings together the folks loved and trusted by older people, people with disabilities, dementia and depression. They offer a smartphone app which provides the simplest and clearest way to get communication and support from the people you love and trust. This team includes Qiuyu Gao, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2019, and two unaffiliated partners, Yousong Zhang and Qingbo Yang.

Lifealarm: Putting a stop to infant vehicular heatstroke, the product is a micro-controller which uses multiple sensors to detect if a child is trapped in a car under harsh conditions. This team, all from the College of Engineering and all Class of 2018, includes Jake Jesi, Nolan Conway and Jefferson Kappers.

IntraText: IntraText is an application that combines interaction and text to revolutionize the book industry. Content is transformed to engage, incentivize and interact with users to keep them interested in today's digital age. This team includes Jamie Levy, College of Arts and Sciences, Class of 2018, Kerry Shwartz, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2019, Kristen Brokaw, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2018, and Gina Gesualdi, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2018.

Lyapunov Technologies: Lyapunov Technologies merges the field of control systems engineering with the world of finance to provide technology driven financial services that innovate risk management. This team includes Anthony Rossi, College of Business and Economics as well as College of Engineering, Class of 2018, and Duanyi Wei, College of Engineering, Class of 2018.

On Track LLC.: It is the goal of On Track to provide personalized plans to high school students that will save them thousands of dollars by providing information on summer classes, AP tests and dual credit courses that will allow the student to receive inexpensive college credits prior to enrollment. This team from Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics includes Nicholas Makos, Brian Tso, and Bryan Leach, Class of 2019.

Patient Sortal: Patient Sortal provides safe, efficient access to health information to both patients and health professionals. This team includes Kyle Delfini, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2019, and Kenny Eck, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2018.

Seeterra: Farmers make more informed crop management decisions using their cloud-based AI to analyze sub-canopy conditions collected by the seeterra community - improving crop yields by monitoring crop health, suggesting optimal fertilizer/irrigation inputs and actively controlling pests, diseases and weeds. Adam Stager, College of Engineering, Class of 2019, developed this concept.

The SEWcial Café: The SEWcial Café, pronounced The Social Café, is a community sewing space for women to create, collaborate and develop handmade products in a relaxed and inspiring environment that encourages innovation. ChaCha Hudson, College of Arts and Sciences, Class of 2019, developed this concept.

Wilminvest: Wilminvest provides supported housing environments for third party community-based organizations, by renovating vacant properties in the city of Wilmington, Delaware and leases them as permanent supportive housing. This team includes Joel Amin and Bryce Fender, both from the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics and Class of 2019.

Alumni, Faculty, Staff team profiles

BioHealthonomics, Inc: Biohealthonomics is a clinical stage biotechnology and healthcare company dedicated to developing and commercializing high-impact, effective therapeutics that address critical unmet needs in the treatment of migraine headaches and other Central Nervous System conditions. This team includes Randy Jones, College of Engineering, Class of 1979, and Cris Arnou, unaffiliated.

Nemo, LLC: Nemo is the first universal gesture recognition wearable device, aiming to revolutionize human computer interaction as an all-in-one wearable device. Adam Engelson, College of Engineering, Class of 2016, developed this concept.

OPS, LLC: OPS, LLC supports drinking water infrastructure systems, recording reliable, secure, field-data for analysis and helping to reduce violations enabling water operators to invest in their infrastructure instead of paying violation restitution costs. This team includes Lee Beauchamp, College of Engineering, Class of 2005, Matthew Beard, unaffiliated, Tai Nguyen, unaffiliated, and Timothy Gantzhorn, unaffiliated.

Power Pedal: The Power Pedal is a new rehabilitation device that gives clinicians a better way to evaluate and treat asymmetrical movement commonly seen after injury to the lower extremity. This team includes Ryan Zarzycki, College of Health Sciences, Jeannie Stephens, College of Engineering, and Ashutosh Khandha, College of Engineering.

RFID IoT unit tracking and monitoring: The RFID IoT system is for ski resorts, amusement parks and sporting events. It tracks and monitors customer use of the ski lift, the amusement park rides, sporting event customers access to concessions and related revenue generating equipment/services. This team includes Yong Peng, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2012, and Tonghua Li, College of Engineering, Class of 2011.

RiKarbon INC: RiKarbon INC provides a cost-competitive environmentally acceptable biolubricant with better specifications for high-performance applications. This team includes Saikat Dutta and Basudeb Saha, both from the College of Arts and Sciences.

Robossis: Robossis, an orthopedic surgical robot, assists surgeons in treating patients with broken femurs and other bones in a manner that will enable them to heal faster with fewer complications by helping with pre-operative planning and actual surgery. This team includes Shahin Afsharbakeshloo, College of Arts and Sciences, Class of 2017, Mohammad Hossein, unaffiliated, and Abedin Nasab, unaffiliated.

Smartbooks: Smartbooks is an evolutionary company utilizing smart technology in order to provide adults the opportunity to personalize children’s books through an avatar creation app. This team includes Courtney Hewitt, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2011, Rossiny Beaucejour, College of Engineering, Class of 2014, Garry Johnson, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2018, Taji Hardwick, College of Business and Economics, Class of 2018.

StreetReply: StreetReply is a web-based platform providing prospective leads and relevant property details for use by realtors, rental agents, private real estate sellers, private real estate renters and property managers. Andres Holland, UD Office of Communications and Marketing, developed this concept.

Veramorph LLC: Veramorph is a drug delivery company developing multi-functional materials for more convenient and effective oral delivery of poorly absorbed drugs in order to form partnerships with pharmaceutical companies. Paul Godfrin, College of Engineering, Class of 2015, developed this concept.

Hen Hatch and Innovation Showcase

The final round of the competition will be held during the Hen Hatch and Innovation Showcase on April 24, 5 to 9 p.m., at the World Café Live at the Queen in Wilmington, Delaware. It will feature pitches by the top three teams from each track before an accomplished panel of judges. Finalists will compete for a $100,000-plus prize pool.

Admission to Hen Hatch Final and Innovation Showcase is $20 for students and $50 for community members. Early bird tickets are $10 for students and $25 for community members, and available until April 1. Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, including beer and wine, will be provided. Advance registration is required. Register online.

About Horn Entrepreneurship

Horn Entrepreneurship serves as the University of Delaware’s creative engine for entrepreneurship education and advancement. Built and actively supported by successful entrepreneurs and thought leaders, Horn Entrepreneurship empowers aspiring innovators and entrepreneurs as they pursue new ideas for a better world.