A novel treatment for long-term pain management that could revolutionize post-operative care and eliminate the need for opioids for many, won the first-place, $30,000 grand prize at the Wolff New Venture Competition last week.
Professors and esteemed UConn Health researchers Lakshmi Nair, Ph.D. and Yusuf Khan, Ph.D. say they were both surprised and thrilled that their startup, Soleia Biosciences, received the award. With the financial and business support they’ve received, they hope to advance the treatment that has been in development for 10 years.
“This prize will really set the stage for everything else we need to do; without it we would have been stuck,’’ Khan says. “Now we can move forward with determining exactly what we need to do to show our product is both safe and effective, and get it into the hands of doctors so they can start treating patients as soon as possible.’’
“Our job has always been to figure out how to solve medical problems that don’t have a good solution,’’ Khan says. “With the Wolff Prize, we are even closer to that reality.’’
Competition Awarded $115,000 in Cash and Prizes
The Wolff New Venture Competition is the School of Business’ pinnacle entrepreneurship challenge. The event on Tuesday night drew dozens of UConn entrepreneurs and their supporters to the Dunkin Park YG Club for a night of competition, camaraderie, networking, and socializing.
This year marks the ninth anniversary of the Wolff event, which invites five outstanding UConn-affiliated startups to compete annually. Since its inception, the amount of the awards has risen from $15,000 to more than $$115,000 in cash and in-kind services.
The five 2024 Wolff finalists have developed a diverse set of companies, from toys to e-commerce to a business-travel planning app. Preparation for the event begins in March when 10 startups are selected to participate in the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation’s (CCEI) Summer Fellowship Accelerator, where they develop their businesses to become market ready.
“This was by far the best Wolff New Venture Competition to date,’’ says Jennifer Mathieu, executive director of CCEI. “The room was packed with members of our entrepreneurial ecosystem including investors, community partners, dozens of CCEI’s entrepreneurs showcasing their startups, and many of our alumni just there to support.
“There was an energy in the space; it was one of collaboration, community, and this level of overall excitement that everyone seemed to have about being there. I feel proud of what my team has accomplished in their support of the hundreds of startups that have participated in CCEI programs,’’ she says. “The five teams that pitched have made tremendous progress since working with CCEI. I can’t wait to see what impact they are going to have on the world.’’
Medical Company Wins Grand Prize
In addition to the grand prize, Soleia Biosciences also received the Legal Services Award valued at $10,000 and presented by Wiggin and Dana’s emerging companies division.
The startup is on the cusp of a breakthrough pain-reduction treatment that can extend the duration of local anesthetics, enabling patients to be nearly pain-free and mobile. Nair says the $15 billion post-surgical pain management industry is ready for change.
“Since opioid use can have such a negative impact on a person, it’s really critical to find non-addictive solutions for both short- and long-term pain,’’ Nair says. “This applies to everyone, young and old; nobody is exempt from these needs. In younger people it may be part of recovering from a painful sports injury, and in older people more about managing something like osteoarthritis. Regardless of the age or disease, there is a critical need for opioid alternatives.’’
The company already has patents pending and compelling pre-clinical data. The founders are looking to hire a consultant to help them begin the FDA approval process.
Started by Two Car Enthusiasts, WheelPrice Earned Three Honors
The $10,000 Second-Place Prize, sponsored by Santander Bank, went to WheelPrice, an online marketplace that facilitates the sales of new, used and vintage wheels. The company also won a $5,000 Audience Choice Award sponsored by Fiondella Milone & Lasaracina (FML) and a $35,000 pro bono Digital Product Development Award from Revyrie.
Co-founder Kyle Mayers ’13 (BUS) says the company has something for everyone. “We have wheels for every car from a Honda Civic to a Ferrari,” he says.
Mayers and co-founder Wally Namane ’13 (BUS), ’18 MBA, both car enthusiasts, met as students through mutual friends at UConn. “We’ve had a life-long obsession with cars,’’ Mayers says.
Today they hope to become the number one marketplace for the 67 million car enthusiasts in the U.S. Globally, consumers spend $5 billion on wheels annually. They believe their easy-to-use platform and some high-tech features, now in development, will put them in the industry’s drivers’ seat.
Business-Travel App Took Third Place
Since the onset of the pandemic, the number of fully remote companies has grown 400%. And although their employees may be on different coasts, Vamos founder Niko Zurita ’10 (BUS) believes every growing business requires face-to-face meetings between colleagues. He is developing an app to tailor meetings and locations to company needs, while also saving them money.
Vamos received the $7,500 Third Place Prize sponsored by Prime Materials Recovery Inc., and a Digital Surgeons brand consulting award, valued at $10,000.
Toy Dinosaurs, Natural Food Preservative Captivated Audience
Lyla Andrick ’24 (CAHNR), created Happy Dinosaur, a company that sells brightly colored dinosaur stuffed animals, from her dorm room at UConn. The plush animals have become so popular that the New England boutiques that stock them can’t keep them on the shelves. As part of her presentation, she passed around a half-dozen dinosaurs, and members of the audience were delighted.
Happy Dinosaur won a $5,000 Community Impact Award, sponsored by Baystate Financial, that will help Andrick create books about the main characters and create a format for children to share imaginative stories about them.
Meanwhile Atlas, formerly Atlantic Sea Solutions, a company using seaweed extracts as a tasteless, texture-less coating to preserve the shelf-life of peaches, berries and other produce, won a $5,000 Innovation Award, sponsored by Mark and Jamie Summers. The company plans to use the winning to purchase more equipment.
“What I love about my work and what motivates me is using science and technology to do cool things with food,’’ says co-founder Anuj Purohit, a research associate in the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. “The world population is growing, and we all need good, nutritious food. That’s what drew me to agriculture and what keeps me going.’’
Experienced Entrepreneurs Say Their Companies are Thriving
The event also welcomed more than 25 previous Wolff participants who have made great strides with their startups. They were eager to cheer on the next wave of entrepreneurs.
Jake Winter ’22 (ENG), co-founder and CTO of PatentPlusAI, a company using AI to generate comprehensive patent search reports in less than 24 hours, says the startup has grown exponentially in four years.
“We’re hustling,’’ says Winter, noting that their client base includes corporate giant IBM. If he could offer advice to the newer entrepreneurs, it would be to “get ridiculously familiar with your market, and once you understand your customer, test as soon as you can,’’ he says.
For graduate student Amelia Martin, the year since her participation in the Wolff competition has been one of extraordinary growth.
“A year ago, I didn’t know what to expect. I had the mindset of a student,’’ she says. “Now I think like a CEO.’’
Her company, Mud Rat, an eco-friendly alternative to the standard Styrofoam surfboard core, has participated in two business accelerators, won a small grant, and is completing its first protype this month. She’s also added to her team. Martin advises those who follow in her footsteps to just keep going when the going is tough. “If you stick with it, you’ll hit all your goals eventually,’’ she says.
In the last year, alumna Hayley Segar, founder of onewith, a direct-to-consumer swimwear and accessory company, has been featured in People and InStyle magazines. She now employs four manufacturers to make her swimwear and this year sold 50,000 units. She hasn’t lost touch with her roots; her mom still packs her orders.
She tells the new entrepreneurs to avoid distraction. “They need to be focused and heads-down in the early stages of their company,’’ she says. “It’s exciting, there is a lot of sacrifice, but in the end, owning your own business is extremely satisfying.’’
She credits UConn for setting her up for success. As she speaks with entrepreneurs who attended other colleges, none of them had the expert entrepreneurial support that UConn offered, Segar says.
Judges Were Impressed by What They Heard
Competition judge Luke Steinberger, COO at Revyrie, a company that helps build and scale companies and a sponsor of the event, says he was very impressed with all the presentations.
“They were well prepared, and I loved the diversity of ideas,’’ he says. “The program exceeded my expectations. I’m very happy to be involved and will be back next year.’’
Judge Adam Silverman, partner at law firm Wiggin and Dana, says he didn’t know exactly what to expect before the competition. “It was great to be a part of the competition. I was impressed by the quality of the companies, the focus of the founders, and the exciting use of technology,’’ he says.
School of Business Dean John A. Elliott spoke about how entrepreneurship has grown in the 13 years he has been here.
“We used to think entrepreneurship was something for juniors and seniors to explore but now we welcome many students who begin their companies as freshmen,’’ he says. “The excitement around entrepreneurship has grown rapidly.’’
Elliott also thanked the Wolff family, including Greg Wolff who was in attendance, for starting the competition and advocating for entrepreneurship at UConn. Elliott says their influence helped create additional competitions and great support for startups at UConn.
Alycia Chrosniak, Assistant Director of Brand & Venture Development at CCEI, says working with the startups and watching them grow has been rewarding.
“But my favorite part will be three months from now when I get the emails about what these new companies and their founders have accomplished,’’ she says. “What we do here is life changing.’’
