Waded Cruzado President of Montana State University | Official Website
Waded Cruzado President of Montana State University | Official Website
Montana State University has announced the finalists for its annual $100K Venture Competition, organized by the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship alongside the MSU Blackstone LaunchPad. The competition offers entrepreneurs a platform to showcase their business ideas, gain feedback, and compete for startup funding.
The final competition will be held on Thursday, April 24, at 5 p.m. in Inspiration Hall located in MSU’s Norm Asbjornson Hall, with free entry to the public.
Finalists are categorized into three competition tracks: Deep Tech/University Based Research, Traditional Venture, and Social Impact.
In the Deep Tech/University Based Research track, the finalists include:
- GPT Teach for Me, an AI technology aiming to assist educators in creating video presentations from PDF slides. This is led by Andrew Laskowski from the Earth Science Department at MSU.
- Grain Yield Enhancement, which focuses on improving crop yield and drought resistance, presented by Brandon Tillett, a PhD candidate from MSU’s Plant Science Department.
- LinQ Photonics, which enhances lidar imaging for market needs, is presented by Caleb Rohn, MSU alumni, Cole Hammond, a PhD student, and Zach Lakin, a graduate research student.
Under the Traditional Venture track, the finalists are:
- Remsight, a service provider in surface water management, presented by Stephen McLaughlin from the University of Montana.
- Sierra Training Halters, creating horse halters based on equine psychology, developed by Daniel Sierra, an MSU Innovation and Management graduate.
- StarSync Studio, innovating in music production for global connectivity, presented by Marley Miller, Tiger Pixton, Nicholas Scharbach, and Quinn Olney from the University of Montana.
In the Social Impact category, the projects include:
- Phreno, a sensor providing real-time concussion data, presented by Nick Kasten, a computer science student at MSU.
- Sacred Canine Rescue, a culturally grounded animal rescue serving the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, led by Jozette Limpy, an MSU Animal Science student.
- Starless Sky Productions, a company focused on micro-budget film production in Montana and the Northwest, presented by Gus Yeager and Mara Flynn, MSU Film students.
For questions about the competition, contact 406-994-4383 or info@msulaunchpad.org.
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