The recent conclusion of the 2024 Business Scholars Innovation Project marked a significant milestone for students involved with the Business Scholars program through the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business.
Competing for four main prizes – Best Idea, Best Pitch, Best Prototype, and Best Branding – the teams have been working since January 2024 to seek out and create solutions to real-world challenges they saw in and around their communities. This annual competition is managed in partnership with the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and has become a foundational learning experience within the Business Scholars program.
Over 75 teams worked through the entrepreneurial process of problem and solution finding, prototyping, market research, pricing and feasibility analysis. There was a large range of problems and solutions explored across the competition – with strategies designed to combat anything from dissatisfaction with campus food options to difficulties with travel planning. There was also a noted rise this year in teams that decided to explore ideas using artificial intelligence.
“This project took a lot of time, effort and passion,” said Elliot Bloem, a member of the Impact Alert team. “I was very grateful to work with this team because we worked really well together.”
Best Pitch winner
Impact Alert – winner of both the Best Idea and the Best Branding awards – is a team centered around safety in sports helmets. The team utilized impact detection technology in an effort to reduce the risk of contact sports and create an overall higher proactive game plan for treating injuries in athletes.
This project led hundreds of students to explore ideas while applying the business skills they have learned in the classroom. Distinctive in the challenge it presents to students, it also serves to inform students of the real-world problems that entrepreneurs must solve every day.
“This project gave me a ton of cool experiences with entrepreneurship,” said Luke Westmoreland, a member of the group that won Best Prototype. “It helped me build some of the skills I need to do it.”
Learn more about the Business Scholars program at eccles.utah.edu/students/business-scholars.
Best Prototype winner
Innovation Showcase Winners 2024
- Best Idea – Impact Alert
- Elliott Bloem
- Kai Cruz
- Clare Stempky
- Kate Thoreson
- Best Branding – Impact Alert
- Elliott Bloem
- Kai Cruz
- Clare Stempky
- Kate Thoreson
- Best Prototype – Miss You Box
- Calvin Dornan
- David O’Neal
- Ricardo Spiegel
- Luke Westmoreland
- Best Pitch – U Food
- Maggie Garff
- Megan Horstmsann
- Zachary O’Keefe
- Tammy Phung
