Twenty-two Washington University startups, founded by students and recent alumni, have been named as semifinalists and are set to compete in the fall 2022 Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC) for a chance to earn up to $25,000 in awards.

We had a record-breaking number of entries in the competition this fall – 74 teams submitted a venture idea! The Skandalaris Center reviewed the ventures and Assistant Director of Venture Development, Cyril Loum, shared “We had outstanding submissions this fall and narrowing it down to the semifinalists is harder than ever. Regardless of whether or not a venture makes it to the semifinals stage, we encourage everyone to stay connected to the Skandalaris Center – we’re here for continued support during SVC and beyond!”

The Skandalaris Center team is proud to see that all academic schools, plus Beyond Boundaries, were represented in the teams who joined the competition. II Luscri, Managing Director and Assistant Vice Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship shared, “Entrepreneurship isn’t limited to a specific program or a specific major. Seeing students from all WashU schools share their ideas is exciting. It shows that they see themselves as innovators and are tapping into the entrepreneurial mindset.”

On October 19, 2022, the semifinalists will pitch to a distinguished panel of judges during a closed event. Following those presentations, all are welcome to attend the SVC Semifinals IdeaBounce® where the semifinalists return for a chance to make it to the finals and win funding to launch or expand their ventures. We encourage you to show your support, cheer on these amazing ventures, and cast your vote for People’s Choice!

The Skandalaris Venture Competition is made possible through the generous support from Skandalaris National Council member, Kishore Kanakamedala.

The fall 2022 Skandalaris Venture Competition (SVC) semifinalists are:

Alpha is an online tutoring platform that helps pharmacy students acquire knowledge. Asmaa Alkanderi (GM ’23), Maria Espitia (GM ’23).

Bailembao is a premium “dance-leisure” apparel company that sells comfortable and stylish apparel for dancers and night clubbers with a unique, sustainable fabric formula connected to Latin America. Brandon Hampton (LA ’20, GM ’22)

Casco Learning is a Spanish immersive learning collaborative in St. Louis, Missouri, designed to build a community for families by families. Alexandra Margherio (SW ’23)

ChiChi is an ultra-healthy breakfast food made from chickpeas, instead of oats. Chiara Munzi (LA ’23), Isabelle Gorton (LA ’25), Yemane Kidane (LA ’23)

Contrast AI creates software that specializes in voice-enabled workflow automation for healthcare providers. Julian Lu (LA ’24), Michael Cafiero (EN ’24)

Euler Science has created an interactive semantic search engine for patents and scientific literature that visually clusters results to enable the rapid discovery of related works. Jared Lalmansingh (GR ’21), Daniel Van Hoesen (GR ’20)

Final Step is a mobile budgeting app that incentivizes users to improve financial capabilities through a personalized algorithm. Helen Telahun (LA ’24), Zoe Al-Tawiti (LA ’24), Jochen Ma (GB ’22), Michelle Zhao (LA ’25)

Flexure Medical is changing spine care through the creation of 3D printed, motion preserving implants that match natural biomechanics. Samuel Brehm (ME ’25), Aspen Chadderdon (EN ’23, TG ’24), Hau-Ju Ting (EN ’24), Aneesh Syal (LA ’23)

Kickback Podcasts is creating a Web3 podcast player where you can connect with your favorite hosts and listen to earn. Alexander Zwerner (BU ’25), Aneesh Syal (LA ’23), Grant Soloman (LA ’26)

LightWave is developing A USB-C charger as slim as a modern smartphone in order to facilitate a more convenient transit for those who need their laptops outside of their home. Afam Obioha (BU ’22), Abdou Kane (LA ’24), Rosie Dutt (PhD Candidate)

Mend is a platform that supports the circular fashion economy through connecting individuals with clothing repair & redesign needs to local creatives and seamstresses. Olivia Baba (FA ’23), Maya Horesch (BU ’22), Jack Brophy (LA ’22), Sandro Celebidachi (BU ’24)

MiDoc is an at-home medical device that allows physicians to remotely conduct heart and lung physical exams during telemedicine. Linda Wu (GB ’22), Katie Thai (EN ’23, SI ’24), Lili Hostetler (GB ’23, SI ’24), Hanyang Liu (PhD Candidate), Arthur Zhou (GB ’22), Alec Fields (EN ’22, SI ’22)

Papertrail helps enthusiasts keep important records of cars, motorcycles, and boats safer and more accessible than ever. Kuo Wang (EN ’24, TG ’25)

Pool is a mobile dating app that reinvents online dating as a social activity for singles to get help from their friends. Sarah Lands Ramrup (PM ’23), Rebecca Brosch (PM ’23)

SideQuest is creating a behavioral science research-backed goal-setting social media app. Leslie Ligier (LA ’23), Rohan Gupta (LA ’24), Katherine Ge (EN ’24), Will Triantis (BU ’24), Adam Schwartz (BU ’24)

Sobriety Hub provides operations management software and systems for sober living homes. Clayton Canfield (BU ’23), Joseph Lanfersieck (EN ’24)

SocialBet is developing a peer-to-peer social betting platform which will allow friends to make custom wagers with each other. Rory Perkins (LA ’25)

StockSwap is daily fantasy but for the stock market where instead of creating a team of players, you build a portfolio of stocks. Blake Berg (BU ’23), Matthew Fisher (BU ’23)

Tutors for Us connects Black high school students to Black college students from Top 20 schools who provide college counseling, interview preparation, ACT, SAT, and AP tutoring. Angelica Harris (BU ’21, SI ’22), Brianna Chandler (LA ’23), Artorius Zhang (EN ’24)

UpSkilr is the first web-based workforce development platform that makes customized matches for job-seekers and employers to skill-building programs in their local labor market. Sydney Nagorsky (EN ’23), Alexandra Blake (BU ’24), Matt Yu (GB ’22), Hayley Kalb (BU ’24)

XChanger makes investing as simple as Swipe, Share, and Play utilizing AI to build and monetize your portfolios. Raj Thaker (EN ’24), Inara Khan (BU ’24), Matthew Magnani (BU ’24), Peter Bukary (BU ’24), Chris Chen (EN ’24), Peter Yan (EN ’23, SI ’23)

Yitzy is developing a social wellness community to help young adults form deeper connections online through social journaling. Joseph Merkadeau (LA ’23)