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Finalists Chosen for the Spring 2022 Skandalaris Venture Competition

Shanna Akley
March 3, 2022
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Seven WashU student and recent alumni ventures have been chosen as the finalists in the Spring 2022 Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC). On March 3, seventeen semi-finalists gave their best pitch to a panel of judges, who voted for which teams would progress into the finals. 

After the private judging portion of the competition was complete, the semifinalists presented their business pitches at an open IdeaBounce®, where fellow students, alumni, and faculty gathered to watch and cheer them on. 

All of the semifinalists received feedback from the judges to help make improvements to their venture ideas and pitches. II Luscri, Managing Director, Assistant Vice Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship told semifinalists and attendees, “We are so excited to see the variety of innovative ideas presented today. The Skandalaris Center is proud to support the development of new ideas through opportunities like the Skandalaris Venture Competition.”

These finalists will pitch to a distinguished panel of judges on April 14, 2022, where they will have a chance to win up to $22,500 in awards to launch or expand their ventures. SVC is made possible through the generous support from Skandalaris National Council member, Kishore Kanakamedala. 

The Spring 2022 Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC) finalists are:

bonhome is a web application and consulting service that simplifies the process of opening and operating a home daycare. Jacob Wise (GB, ME ’23)

Grapevine Biosciences is rapid testing for the identification of catheter-associated bloodstream infections. Victoria Mityul (ME ’25)

Hormonetopia is a web-based virtual classroom and mobile application designed to help health educators teach adolescents how to prevent menstrual disorders. Najjuwah Walden (SW ’23)

MiDoc is an at-home medical device that allows physicians to remotely conduct lung and heart physical exams, revolutionizing the patient-provider telehealth experience and improving healthcare access, affordability, convenience, and quality. Linda Wu (GB ’22)

Multiflex neurovascular catheter is a medical device that solves unmet needs in neurovascular surgery. Vinay Chandrasekaran (BS ’21)

Speak IT is a St. Louis-based software company that specializes in voice-enabled assistance tools for healthcare providers. Kai Skallerud (GB ’22), Chris Callan (GB ’22), Ajla Salic (GB ’23), Julian Lu (LA ’24)

Tylmen is creating a universal sizing method to help people shop the web with confidence knowing their exact size and fit when buying fashion and apparel. Lloyd Yates (GB ’22)

At the IdeaBounce®, audience members had a chance to join in the fun by voting for one team to win a People’s Choice award. The SVC People’s Choice $250 winner, as voted by attendees at the semifinals was MiDoc. 

Cyril Loum, Assistant Director of Venture Development, announced the finalists at the end of the evening saying, “This group of innovators really impressed me. I can see that we are bringing out the changemakers of WashU for this competition, and I couldn’t be more excited to see how their ventures grow after SVC.” 

The winner of the Spring 2022 SVC will be announced at The Washington University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Awards Presented by the Skandalaris Center on April 14. All are welcome to attend the awards ceremony to see which teams will win non-dilutive funding for their venture.