They’ve gone head to head on the field, and now the Atlantic Coast Conference’s best entrepreneurs battle it out this week, Shark Tank-style, April 5 and 6, when the 15 top student teams of the ACC travel to Georgia Tech and pitch their inventions to a panel of expert judges.
Member institutions of the ACC held internal competitions to identify the best team to represent their campus at this year’s ACC InVenture Prize. During a semi-final round of competition in Atlanta on April 5, judges will evaluate each team on their quality of idea, business model, entrepreneurship, and probability of success. Five finalists will be selected from the 15 to pitch in the final round on April 6, which will be broadcast live on television by Public Broadcasting Service affiliates.
Student participants will engage in a variety of innovation and startup activities while in Atlanta and also present their work following the final competition to audience members, the public, and potential investors.
Representing Syracuse University will be Kayla Simon and Elizabeth Tarangelo, co-founders of In-Spire.
In-Spire’s mission is to be able to provide an easy and stylish way to take asthma medication on-the-go, or in the state of emergency. The co-inventors, both asthma patients throughout their lives, used their own personal experiences in order to create a device that can improve quality of life for the millions of people who suffer from this chronic condition.
Worldwide, 10% of the population has asthma. This number is more than double the population of the United States. While standard inhalers exist, they are often not accessible when most needed. In-Spire is a single, sleek band that has a small inhaler integrated into it. The bracelet can be re-opened and refilled after each use, creating a sustainable and reliable product for consumers. Accessing the medication is as simple as opening the band and using a bite activation method. This product creates value for active adults who have asthma and want a simple, reliable solution, especially for exercise-induced bronchoconstriction. It is also geared toward younger asthma patients who are likely to lose or forget their conventional inhaler devices. This wearable technology device offers a novel, affordable and effective solution.
Simon ’19, Aerospace Engineering and Tarangelo ’19 Biomedical Engineering, developed In-Spire in the Invent@SU program and worked with the Blackstone LaunchPad on its business model.
Social media hashtag being used for this event: #accinventureprize