Innovation Quest

Unique, Creative Startups Win $30,000

Posted on by Claire Hall

2017 Innovation Quest Awards

Innovation Quest Tops Participation Record; Winners Present Vastly Different, Creative Startup Ideas

The winners of this year’s Innovation Quest (iQ) competition had a unique set of people to credit for inspiring their success, including:

  • A friend with a teddy bear tattoo, emblazoned with his ex-girlfriend’s name;
  • A waitress who was trying to handle a mad-house of customers during a blizzard, when the rest of the wait staff didn’t show up;
  • A little brother who leaves his EpiPen home because it is too bulky to carry;
  • Americans who have very polarized beliefs about political events, depending on which news source they follow.

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Over 200 Would-Be Entrepreneurs Seek Mentoring, Business Advice

Posted on by Claire Hall
Freshman Michael Mayo has dreams of building a roller-skating business adjacent to his alma mater, New Britain High School. (Devin Basdekian/UConn School of Business)
Freshman Michael Mayo has dreams of building a roller-skating business adjacent to his alma mater, New Britain High School. (Devin Basdekian/UConn School of Business)

“It’s Not a Passive World”

Freshman Michael Mayo has dreams of building a roller-skating business adjacent to his alma mater, New Britain High School. His goal would be to afford students some much-needed recreation while also offering them classes and hands-on knowledge about how to run a business. Continue Reading

2016 iQ Winners

Posted on by Claire Hall
Elizabeth “Liz’’ Pouya, a rising senior majoring in physiology and neurobiology, who ultimately hopes to become a physician, presents her idea to prospective investors. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Elizabeth “Liz’’ Pouya, a rising senior majoring in physiology and neurobiology who ultimately hopes to become a physician, presents her idea to prospective investors. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

“I Was Surprised That Someone Hadn’t Invented This Yet”

UConn senior Stephen Hawes debuted as an entrepreneur several years ago, working diligently to perfect his first invention: a wrist-mounted, propane-driven flame thrower.

His parents worried that their son, a mechanical engineering student, would burn down their home.

But Hawes persisted, and brought his prototype to an engineering conference in New York City. There, he saw a company demonstrating artificial appendages for children missing fingers.Continue Reading

Nerac to Host the Next XcellR8 Meeting April 28

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Nerac – Nerac (www.nerac.com/) is pleased to announce the next XcellR8 meeting which will be held Thursday, April 28, 2016 at the Nerac headquarters in Tolland, CT. The XcellR8 meetings are high energy, interactive gatherings for entrepreneurs to pitch ideas and concepts and to brainstorm creative solutions to challenges. XcellR8 welcomes Greg Kirber and the team from PartsTech, Inc. (www.partstech.com/)

Student Ideas Become Reality at Innovation Quest Workshop

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

The Daily Campus – Having an idea and turning it into something real is the premise behind the world’s greatest achievements, from jets that fly around the world to electric cars. At the second Innovation Quest workshop at the University of Connecticut School of Business lounge, students began to make some of their ideas into a reality.

UConn Launches 5th Innovation Quest

Posted on by Claire Hall
Students, alumni, and mentors gathered on Feb. 22 to launch the 5th Annual Innovation Quest. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Students, alumni, and mentors gathered on Feb. 22 to launch the 5th Annual Innovation Quest. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Students, Teams, Ideas Soaring to New Levels, Mentors Say

Graduate nursing student Samantha Nesbeth wants to find a way to use genetics, instead of hair transplants, to help men and women regrow thinning hair.

“When you lose your hair, you see yourself as a different person,” said Nesbeth. “You don’t know who you are without hair. It can be disabling and depressing. Your hair is part of who you are,” said the Meriden native, who is planning a career as a nurse practitioner specializing in dermatology.Continue Reading

Kevin Bouley’s Passion Is Promoting Connecticut’s Brainpower, Creativity, Innovations

Posted on by Claire Hall

As a serial entrepreneur and angel investor, Kevin Bouley ’80 is always searching for the next great innovation.

But what he really seeks—which is even more rare and a thousand times more intriguing—is the next great innovator.

“I spend a fair amount of time at UConn, visiting the labs and walking the hallways meeting with faculty, undergraduate students and graduate students, looking for that spark, looking for that student or faculty member who wants to build a business, wants to launch a company based on a technology they’ve developed in a lab,” he said.Continue Reading

What’s the BIG Idea?

Posted on by Claire Hall

What's the BIG Idea?

Six Finalists from UConn’s ‘Innovation Quest’ Impress Angel Investors

Kyle Mahoney ’18 just finished his freshman year at UConn, but already he has created a therapeutic massage device that he believes will be a retail blockbuster.

Mahoney and his business partner, Chris Brown ’15, were among six teams recognized as the best entrepreneurial ventures in UConn’s highly competitive Innovation Quest. Continue Reading

Students Enter Their “Stay-Up-All-Night-Working-On-It’’ Projects In Hopes of Becoming UConn’s Innovation Quest Champ

Posted on by Claire Hall

Have you ever tried to buy concert- or theater- tickets online and been asked to retype two words, which are displayed in squashed, blurry, italic font that is virtually impossible to distinguish?

If you’re like Theo Marrinan, that hurdle absolutely drives you nuts. Marrinan has a plan that will make that task a little easier, a great deal more fun, and may also be intriguing to advertisers who could use it to promote their product.

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