Congratulations to our 2021 Idea Competition Winners!

Congratulations to our 2021 Idea Competition Winners!

On Thursday, November 11th, the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship hosted its annual Idea Competition Finale.  Eight finalist teams consisting of students from various majors from UMBC presented their idea pitches in front of a virtual audience and a panel of judges.  After each student/team presented, they faced vigorous rounds of questions from the judges.  Once all presentations were complete, the judges, all UMBC entrepreneurial alums, deliberated and announced the winners.  The Alex. Brown Center would like to recognize the winning ideas below: 

First Place:

Our First Place prize of $750 was captured by Michael Chapman, and his idea, Lightseeker.  Lightseeker is a remote controlled car that can follow a flashlight, poised to redefine the toys dystrophic individuals everywhere are capable of using. Michael states, “With the support of the Idea Competition, I was able to realize what I believed was a goofy and unrealistic idea had the potential to revolutionize the world. Providing me with a platform, the Idea Competition was an invaluable tool in feasibility testing my idea in a supportive environment that provided invaluable feedback and constructive insights.”

Second Place:

Our Second Place prize of $500 was awarded to Geroge Forakis and Noah Hughes with their idea, Block and Lock.  Block and Lock is an all in one block set, carrying container, and building platform, specifically designed to meet the needs of children with motor disabilities.  The duo commented, “It was a rewarding experience to be able to exercise our creativity while also providing a product for children who reached out to UMBC in search of help.”

Third Place AND Best Pitch Winner: 

The Third Place and Best Pitch Prizes (each valued at $250) were awarded for a total of $500 to Faheel Kamran and Mahmoud Shalby for their idea, Haven Cloud.  Haven Cloud is the world's first end-to-end encrypted, privacy-focused cloud storage service. Like all storage services, Haven lets you upload files, photos, and videos to the cloud. But what makes Haven unique is its state-of-the-art security and privacy. Haven uses AES-256, an encryption protocol used by financial institutes, military branches, intelligence agencies and governments to store files securely on its servers. 

Haven is the first service to offer revolutionary auto-locking features, allowing users to secure files on their device even when they're signed in. When it comes to privacy, it also implements a zero tolerance and zero knowledge policy. That means neither Haven nor any other organization can view your files. The duo stated, “One of Haven’s benefits is that it ensures the privacy and safety of pro-democratic activists and journalists around the world that need to securely store and share data. Sometimes, there is no opportunity to go home and send what they capture. Our auto-syncing and protected shared folders make sure photos and videos are shared and received in real-time.”

Congratulations to all the winners!  If you missed the Idea Competition and want to see all the action, check out the recording below!

https://umbc.webex.com/webappng/sites/umbc/recording/508b66602575103a97fd00505681aed8/playback