Eight student-founded startup companies presented at the Institute for Entrepreneurship 2014 Venture Accelerator Showcase on Dec. 11, and the top three teams received their first funding to help develop their businesses.
- Quadshox, a company with plans to revolutionize manual wheelchair suspension, took the top prize of $2,000.
- Change Composites, which plans to produce the safest, most environmentally friendly bicycle helmet on the market, received second place and $1,000.
- The third-place award of $500 went to Purenfusion, a health food company committed to bring basic, real nutrition back into people’s diets through its Dotz organic cube supplements.
As part of the awards, all three companies will also receive $2,500 in legal assistance from the Denver firm Lewis Roca Rothgerber.
Other companies presenting at the Showcase in front of a panel of judges, all local entrepreneurs, were:
- BAUS Tech, a drone service provider
- Bill Buddy, a company offering a multi-tenant bill payment system
- Axios Impact Investments, a for-profit social enterprise connecting impact investors to developing world technologies
- Desta Tours LLC, a social enterprise startup striving to connect adventure tourists with cultural experiences
- Game Centrics, a company seeking to align company and employee goals through games.
All eight companies will continue to receive mentoring, coaching and guidance through the school year, when the companies with the most promising businesses may be invited to continue making them market ready for a year at The Hatchery, a collaboration between CSU’s College of Business and the Innosphere, the Fort Collins-based business and technology incubator.
The Venture Accelerator program, now in its third year, is open to students in all eight colleges at Colorado State. Since its inception, 63 students have gone through the Venture Accelerator; eight companies have participated in The Hatchery, with one continuing to office at the Innosphere as a full-fledged startup client, and five currently in their initial year.
