TechSmartt wins “Fall Vol Court” pitch competition
TechSmartt, an idea conceived by several doctoral students with the Bredesen Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Graduate Education, won the “Fall Vol Court” pitch competition yesterday.
Their idea is to accelerate the speed with which materials research is conducted through the use of the power of mobile devices. Second place went to Financial Cents, a tool to help owners of small businesses better understand their financial data. Third place was a tie with two app ideas – All Aboard to help students find ride sharing opportunities and an as yet unnamed enterprise whose creator is focused on helping students plan social events.
The twice-a-year “Vol Court,” coordinated by the Anderson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ACEI) at the University of Tennessee, featured a record number of ideas being pitched – 13.
During each regular semester, ACEI runs the six-week event where students, faculty, staff and others spend one night each week moving their ideas from concept to a more fully-developed stage, using the business model canvass approach. The first five sessions are preparation for the finale where the entrepreneurs pitch their ideas.
Because of the number of interested participants, this semester’s pitches were reduced in time.
“Vol Court” sponsors include Cirrus Insight; UT Federal Credit Union; UTRF; Pershing Yoakley and Associates, the power behind teknovation.biz; Morehous Legal Group, and Launch TN.
TechSmartt won $1,500, while Financial Cents received $1,000, and the two third place winners shared $500.
