{"id":254293,"date":"2026-10-15T07:02:07","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T11:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=254293"},"modified":"2026-10-15T08:59:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T12:59:59","slug":"the-angus-of-oysters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/10\/the-angus-of-oysters\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The Angus of Oysters\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

When seafood entrepreneur Keegan Jalbert\u2019s startup AccessFlora<\/a> won the Wolff New Venture Competition on Tuesday night, it took him a few minutes to compose himself.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not every day that a new entrepreneur gets a $40,000 check and $5,000 in pro bono services.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had been running on 24 hours of full nerves, and I felt like a tank that is pressure rated. I had surpassed what my body could tolerate,\u2019\u2019 says Jalbert ’23 (CLAS) ’27 MS. \u201cWhen they announced that I had won the top prize, I was calm at first and then I was crying. And I\u2019m not a crier. The recognition is so powerful.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

As a scientist, it is complicated to enter an entrepreneurship-pitch competition, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to explain a lot of context and make people understand the value of what you\u2019re working on, in addition to why they should support your startup,\u2019\u2019 he says. \u201cBut I don\u2019t mind. I like being seen as the \u2018nerdy science guy.\u2019\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Jalbert is finding new ways produce a proprietary omega-3 aquafeed and share his love of seafood with customers who live far from the ocean. He is trying to revolutionize the $767 million shellfish industry by enabling more resilient oyster production and boost the success of hatcheries farther from the ocean.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to be the Angus of oysters,\u2019\u2019 he says, referring to the famous cattle breed. The recognition has strengthened his resolve to continue the work in an industry that he loves.<\/p>\n

Wolff Competition Awarded more than $150,000 in Prizes\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

AccessFlora was one of five UConn-affiliated startups competing in the Wolff New Venture Competition on Tuesday night at Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford. The annual event is hosted by the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI).<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEvery year, the Wolff New Venture Competition reminds me just how much entrepreneurial talent we have here at UConn,\u2019\u2019 says Alycia Chrosniak, Assistant Director of Brand and Venture Development at CCEI and an event organizer. \u201cWhat makes this competition so special is that we’re not just celebrating great ideas, we’re celebrating entrepreneurs who are actively turning those ideas into businesses with the potential to make a meaningful impact on the world.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a great reflection of the strength of UConn’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, the groundbreaking research and innovation happening across the University, and the incredible potential of our students, faculty, and alumni to bring those ideas to life,” she says.<\/p>\n

Build-A-Brush Takes Second Place<\/strong><\/p>\n

Build-A-Brush<\/a>, a customizable children\u2019s toothbrush with detachable blocks on the handle, that strives to increase children\u2019s interest in brushing, won the second-place award and a $15,000 prize. The startup also earned the Audience Choice Award and an additional $5,000 prize.<\/p>\n

The toothbrush is the brainchild of three-time UConn alumnus and pediatric dentist Dr. Dante Paolino, and his business partner Dr. Zachary Gelber. The brush is sold under the corporate name Babsy and, at $25 per kit, it was selling quickly at the Wolff event. Paolino graduated from UConn with a bachelor\u2019s in biology in 2011, a Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) in 2015, and from an advanced pediatric residency program in 2019.<\/p>\n

Healthy baby teeth are important to a child\u2019s health, he says. A parent himself, Paolino said his children have used some impressive stall tactics to avoid brushing their teeth. \u201cIf a child has multiple cavities after their first pediatric dental checkup, parents will do anything to prevent that from happening again,\u2019\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

SEAWELL Beverage Rides the Wave to Third Place<\/p>\n

Father-daughter entrepreneurs Bill Smith \u201978 (BUS) and Lindsay Smith are both experienced boaters who enjoy a day on the water. But they also know that boaters easily become dehydrated due to a combination of heat, sun, and wind. They\u2019ve created a new sparkling, non-alcoholic, juice-infused beverage, called SEAWELL<\/a>, that contains essential electrolytes, a crisp taste, and only 40 calories per can. The\u00a0 new beverage took third place and those attending the Wolff competition were among the first to taste-test the two varieties.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted something that was craveable and enjoyable, a premium beverage crafted in New England for the boating lifestyle, that can refresh and replenish the whole crew,\u2019\u2019 says Lindsay, the company CEO. The entrepreneurs tapped experts at three colleges, including UConn\u2019s nutrition science professor Jennifer Fields, who helped them perfect the hydration component of the beverages.<\/p>\n

The inventors plan to meet new customers at boat shows, marinas, retail shops and through pop-up sales. They will officially launch SEAWELL in the spring in the New Haven-to-Newport corridor.<\/p>\n

Scientific Companies ‘Wowed’ the Judges<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two healthcare startups in the competition also impressed the five-judge panel.<\/p>\n

Scientist, researcher, and newer entrepreneur Xingyu Wang \u201922 Ph.D. showcased an innovation called EVA<\/a>, a smart-sensing device, embedded in a menstrual pad, that collects data from menstrual blood or vaginal fluid to assess reproductive-health information. The company, operating as WE-Sensing, won the Mark & Jamie Summers Innovation Award of $5,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe doctors I\u2019ve spoken with are all very excited,\u2019\u2019 says Wang, who co-founded the company with engineering faculty Baikun Li and Yu Lei. \u201cHistorically, women\u2019s health has received insufficient attention in medical research and testing. Although this is improving, more data is needed to better understand and address women\u2019s health needs.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, ChromaShield<\/a>, a company that uses a color-changing patch to detect radiation-therapy-induced skin inflammation, won two awards, the Baystate Financial impact Award of $5,000 and the Wiggin(x) Legal Services Award, worth $15,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted a simple, patient-centered innovation to combat [skin damage] and offer early signs of a problem,\u2019\u2019 says Suma Denti \u201928 (CLAS), part of a three-member undergrad team that includes co-founders Charli Hughes \u201928 (ENG) and Neha Shanavas \u201928 (CLAS). \u201cWe can\u2019t reverse all the skin damage, but we can enable earlier detection, allowing healthcare providers to mitigate the problem,\u2019\u2019 Dendi says.<\/p>\n

In addition to the top five startup finalists, the event included a showcase of 22 entrepreneurs who had participated in previous Wolff competitions. Many took home substantial awards for their growing businesses, totaling $41,000 in cash and pro bono services.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event honored the late Bette Wolff, who co-founded the competition with her husband, Thomas John Wolff. Her sons, Greg and Gary, say she had an entrepreneurial spirit and a natural instinct for creating value, and was fiercely \u00a0committed to the competition and to young entrepreneurs and their success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fueled by nerves and passion, \u2018Science Guy\u2019 Keegan Jalbert\u2019s aquafeed company wins Wolff Entrepreneurship Championship<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121,"featured_media":254296,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147,2224,1731,2472,2459,2301,1862,2712,2235,2227],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2105],"class_list":["post-254293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-cahnr","category-entrepreneurship","category-gifts-donors","category-graduate-students","category-nutritional-sciences","category-busn","category-student-success","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":"2026-10-22 11:48:40","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\/254293","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=254293"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":254297,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254293\/revisions\/254297"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/254296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254293"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=254293"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=254293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}