Summer Fellowship Accelerator<\/a>, where they develop their businesses to become market ready.<\/p>\n\u201cThis was by far the best Wolff New Venture Competition to date,\u2019\u2019 says Jennifer Mathieu, executive director of CCEI. \u201cThe room was packed with members of our entrepreneurial ecosystem including investors, community partners, dozens of CCEI\u2019s entrepreneurs showcasing their startups, and many of our alumni just there to support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere 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,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cThe five teams that pitched have made tremendous progress since working with CCEI. I can\u2019t wait to see what impact they are going to have on the world.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Medical Company Wins Grand Prize<\/strong><\/p>\nIn addition to the grand prize, Soleia Biosciences also received the Legal Services Award valued at $10,000 and presented by Wiggin and Dana\u2019s emerging companies division.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince opioid use can have such a negative impact on a person, it\u2019s really critical to find non-addictive solutions for both short- and long-term pain,\u2019\u2019 Nair says. \u201cThis applies to everyone, young and old; nobody is exempt from these needs.\u00a0 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.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Started by Two Car Enthusiasts, WheelPrice Earned Three Honors<\/strong><\/p>\nThe $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 \u200b$5,000 Audience Choice Award sponsored by Fiondella Milone & Lasaracina (FML) and a $35,000 pro bono Digital Product Development Award from Revyrie.<\/p>\n
Co-founder Kyle Mayers \u201913 (BUS) says the company has something for everyone. \u201cWe have wheels for every car from a Honda Civic to a Ferrari,” he says.<\/p>\n
Mayers and co-founder Wally Namane \u201913 (BUS), \u201918 MBA, both car enthusiasts, met as students through mutual friends at UConn. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a life-long obsession with cars,\u2019\u2019 Mayers says.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s drivers\u2019 seat.<\/p>\n
Business-Travel App Took Third Place<\/strong><\/p>\nSince 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 \u201910 (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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Toy Dinosaurs, Natural Food Preservative Captivated Audience<\/strong><\/p>\nLyla 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\u2019t keep them on the shelves. As part of her presentation, she passed around a half-dozen dinosaurs, and members of the audience were delighted.<\/p>\n
Happy Dinosaur won a \u200b$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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I love about my work and what motivates me is using science and technology to do cool things with food,\u2019\u2019 says co-founder Anuj Purohit, a research associate in the Department of Nutritional Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources. \u201cThe world population is growing, and we all need good, nutritious food. That\u2019s what drew me to agriculture and what keeps me going.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Experienced Entrepreneurs Say Their Companies are Thriving<\/strong><\/p>\nThe 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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re hustling,\u2019\u2019 says Winter, noting that their client base includes corporate giant IBM. If he could offer advice to the newer entrepreneurs, it would be to \u201cget ridiculously familiar with your market, and once you understand your customer, test as soon as you can,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n
For graduate student Amelia Martin, the year since her participation in the Wolff competition has been one of extraordinary growth.<\/p>\n
\u201cA year ago, I didn\u2019t know what to expect. I had the mindset of a student,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cNow I think like a CEO.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
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\u2019s also added to her team. Martin advises those who follow in her footsteps to just keep going when the going is tough. \u201cIf you stick with it, you\u2019ll hit all your goals eventually,\u2019\u2019 she says.<\/p>\n
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\u2019t lost touch with her roots; her mom still packs her orders.<\/p>\n
She tells the new entrepreneurs to avoid distraction. \u201cThey need to be focused and heads-down in the early stages of their company,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cIt\u2019s exciting, there is a lot of sacrifice, but in the end, owning your own business is extremely satisfying.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Judges Were Impressed by What They Heard<\/strong><\/p>\nCompetition 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were well prepared, and I loved the diversity of ideas,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cThe program exceeded my expectations. I\u2019m very happy to be involved and will be back next year.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
Judge Adam Silverman, partner at law firm Wiggin and Dana, says he didn\u2019t know exactly what to expect before the competition. \u201cIt 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,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n
School of Business Dean John A. Elliott spoke about how entrepreneurship has grown in the 13 years he has been here.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe used to think entrepreneurship was something for juniors and seniors to explore but now we welcome many students who begin their companies as freshmen,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cThe excitement around entrepreneurship has grown rapidly.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Alycia Chrosniak, Assistant Director of Brand & Venture Development at CCEI, says working with the startups and watching them grow has been rewarding.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut my favorite part will be three months from now when I get the emails about what these new companies and their founders have accomplished,\u2019\u2019 she says. \u201cWhat we do here is life changing.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0\u2018I can’t wait to see what impact they are going to have on the world’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":219710,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2224,1731,2460,2472,2459,2301,1862,2235,2227],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-219709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-cahnr","category-entrepreneurship","category-faculty","category-gifts-donors","category-graduate-students","category-nutritional-sciences","category-busn","category-today-homepage","category-uconn-edu-homepage"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 17:56:15","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219709","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/121"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219709"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219709\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":219845,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219709\/revisions\/219845"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/219710"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219709"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219709"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219709"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=219709"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=219709"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}