MSU’s “Big Idea Challenge” awards $10,000 to student innovators

On Nov. 7, Blackstone Launchpad sponsored the “Big Idea Challenge” at the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship (JJCBE). Blackstone Launchpad, MSU’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Center and Oracle, helped to sponsor this event. This challenge allowed 12 student finalists to pitch their product to four judges for a chance to win part of a $10,000 pot. 

The event showcased student inventions in four categories: “Agriculture and Food Innovation” “Social, Cultural or Climate Impact,” “Health and Life Science,” and “Product and Services.” Each category consisted of two to four ideas. The finalists were chosen from a pool of applicants. Some individually pitched ideas, and others worked as a team of two to three, making up the 12 finalists. 

The prize money was split between first-place winners who received $1,250, second-place winners who received $750, and runners-up who received $500. The ideas pitched were a broad variety of innovations from oat-free granola to post-operative rehabilitation products for temporomandibular joint disorders, which affect the jaw. 

The winner in the “Social, Cultural or Climate Impact” category was an idea for an app called Includify. Molly Claussen, Kyla Andersen and Eoghan Perkins won $1,250 for their idea — an app that would allow students with disabilities to be updated on what assistive devices are working on campus. For example, if an elevator was not working in a certain building, the user of the app would be notified. In addition, a campus representative would also be notified so the issue can be fixed as quickly as possible. According to Claussen, the app wouldn't just be for students with disabilities. 

“The whole point of the app isn't to single out people with specific disabilities but rather open it up to anyone, maybe neurodivergent people who want low lighting, really to provide any accessibility to anyone,” Claussen said. She explained that the team plans to continue developing the app with their awarded money and hope to participate in the “100K Venture Competition,” another challenge hosted by Blackstone Launchpad.

The other winners of the categories included a tie between Bello Yanusa and Marina Adelmann for “Agriculture and Food Innovation;” Sage Dodier, Brady Ash and Jack Hathaway with H2Oasis for “Health and Lifestyle” and Moira and Aurora Espinoza Chaney with Huevos Prints for “Products and Services.” 

The competition was judged by four individuals. The first is Marc Hamilton, the vice president of Solutions Architecture and Engineering Team at NVIDIA — an AI computing company. The second and third judges are Denay Solis, director of AI and strategic accounts at Oracle and Brooke Lahneman, an assistant professor of management at JJCBE. The final judge was Michael Mawn, an MSU alum and founder of the Posted!, an app that allows college students to find short-term or one-time gigs around their campus and community. 

The competition had 44 applicants. Their applications were reviewed by preliminary judges including Olivia Moran, the operations manager of Blackstone Launchpad and other staff members of Blackstone Launchpad. This process took about two hours, according to Moran. “We went through all of them, figured out which ones we liked the best, which were the most feasible, actionable and had the most potential, which took a very long time,” she explained. 

Besides sponsoring the “Big Idea Challenge” competition, Blackstone Launchpad is a resource for many students at MSU, according to Moran. “We do coaching. If you have an idea or you just want to talk about a product that doesn't exist yet and you don't know what to do with that, we can figure out where you are, how we can help you, how to get you where you want to go and then anything in between,” she explained.  

Blackstone Launchpad will also be holding the aforementioned “100K  Venture Competition” in the spring. This competition is for students who own start-ups and would like the chance to win part of the $100,000. The competition is open to any MSU student, faculty, staff and alumni that has graduated in the past ten  years. 

You can learn more about the “100K Venture Competition” here: https://www.montana.edu/business/venture-competition/.