Originally written by Emily Myrick for The Hub in April 2021.
A platform that analyzes customer conversations to generate product insights and an electrochemotherapy catheter aiding in the treatment of advanced pancreatic cancers were among the new ventures that won top prizes at the 22nd annual Johns Hopkins University Business Plan Competition last week.
The networking session was a key component of the virtual event, according to JHU Business Plan Competition director Trevor Mackesey, as it allowed attendees to connect face to face outside of the pressure of competition. “We hope attendees think of this event as a place to find support and build community,” said Mackesey, a lecturer in the Whiting School of Engineering’s Center for Leadership Education, which hosts the annual event.
Business Plan Competition winners:
- General Enterprise & Technology: Team Personix, who pitched an easy-to-use software platform that analyzes customer conversations to generate product decisions and insights. Team members were graduate students Samantha Bell, Federico Campos, Mohamad Elgendi, Daniel Hong, Richard Kim, and Gabriel Ramirez.
- Medical Technology & Life Sciences I: Team CurieDx, who pitched an application that helps parents quickly identify common childhood illnesses such as strep throat and ear infections using mobile phone images and AI-driven software. Team members were Therese Canares and graduate student Keith Rochkind.
- Medical Technology & Life Sciences II: Team Plerion Medical, who pitched an intravascular reversible electroporation device used to augment chemotherapy and reduce arterial invasion in locally advanced pancreatic cancers, allowing more patients to receive potentially curative surgery. Team members were graduate students Mariana Bendavit, Mackenzie Hall, Izabella Samuel, Samuel Weinreb, and Kai Zhang.
- Social Enterprise: Team WeGo Foundation, an organization that provides pediatric inpatients at 12 hospitals across the country a sense of normalcy by offering live virtual tours of partner attractions. Team members were undergraduate students Hayden Dux and Eric Fei and graduate students Pavan Shah and Galen Shi.
Read more about the Competition and the winners at The Hub.
