Skandalaris Center

The background image for the website. It is a multi colored mosaic.

The Beginning of a Lasting Partnership: A Recap of the Design Entrepreneurship IdeaBounce®

Sydney Everett (Staff)
August 17, 2020
Share:

On Monday, August 3, 2020, the Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship partnered with the Sam Fox School to host the first Design Entrepreneurship IdeaBounce®. This event brought together alumni, faculty, staff, and students for a chance to pitch their ideas, get feedback, make connections, and win one of five $150 prizes. 

IdeaBounce® allows anyone with an idea to share that idea with an audience of community members and experts. It is an easily adaptable format; it only requires a two-minute pitch. Reflecting on the event Skandalaris Center Managing Director and Assistant Vice Provost for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at WashU II Luscri shared, “IdeaBounce® is an ongoing program all about connecting people and ideas with people who can move them forwards.”

A panel of Sam Fox alumni was chosen as judges for the August 3rd event to evaluate the clarity for ideas, passions of presenters, and the asks for help. Judges included Sam Fox Faculty member and Founding Principal of Arbolope L. Irene Compadre (AB’ 08, MA’12), CEO and Founder of Alloy Jared Della Valle (MA’96, MS’96), PGAV Destinations Principal and Chair Mike Konzen (MA’86), NOT MAKEUP and Perennial Founder Jenny Murphy (BFA ’09), and Amanda Zuckerman (BA’13, BS’13), the Co-Founder and Creative Director of Dormify. 

A variety of ideas ranging from a cosmetics company, and dental office concepts to a mobile app for young activists, and a construction supplier company were pitched. In the end, the event awarded six ideas $150 prizes.

Cold Case Cosmetics – a Black-owned beauty brand geared towards women and men who love makeup and unsolved mysteries. Pitched by Janessa Johnson (BFA’21)

Forged Dental – Redesigned clinical tools and dentist offices to address dental costs and user experience. Pitched by Shay-Jahen Merritte (BFA’09)

Invi – A go-to lab for bringing invasive products to market. Pitched by Jessica Lutz

Love Letters to St. Louis – A place where people can submit stories to share their experiences in or around St. Louis. Pitched by Emma Riley (AB’17)

Shuffl – A dating app to combat shallow interactions and prevent people from being lost in the shuffle. Pitched by Nick Blake (AB’22)

Breakout rooms, where attendees exchanged feedback, followed the pitches. Conversations in the breakout rooms were just the beginning of resources offered to pitchers by attendees as well as Sam Fox and the Skandalaris Center. Dean of the Sam Fox School Carmon Colangelo remarked that the event is “a launching point for further collaboration between Sam Fox and the Skandalaris Center.”

Visit the IdeaBounce website to read all of the ideas pitched at the event and more.