The team from Lumilin Therapeutics, who won first place in the Venture Track, answer questions from the judges during their pitch.
Judges and audience members in the Research Track room pay close attention to a presentation.
![A crowd of people in the think[box] community space](/entrepreneurship/sites/case.edu.entrepreneurship/files/styles/gallery_item/public/2023-04/ThinkBox%20CWRU-6.jpg?itok=syDHGjUd)
The crowd for the April 11, 2023 MPSC event was the first to gather in the brand new Community Space of the think[box].
Attendees enjoy networking and conversation during the event.
Veale Institute executive director Michael Goldberg addresses the audience.
Judge Ariana Cubela, global program manager at Google, responds to a presentation in the Idea Track.
(L to R): Judges Susann Brady-Kalnay, professor at CWRU School of Medicine; Jon Snyder, managing director for investor relations at Ohio Life Sciences; and Michael Hill (GRS '89, GRS '92), global head, science & technology and innovation for Science Innovations.
Finalist Rohit Jain presents his pitch in the Research Track.
Tanvir Hasan presents his pitch for Sonali Bags, for which he was awarded $1,000 and second place in the Social Impact Track.
The team behind Retflix hear judge questions after their presentation. They were tied for first place in the Idea Track and received $3,500.
Jennings Luu presents his pitch for Hyperion Therapeutics, for which he received $3,000 and a tie for first place in the Research Track.
Millan Patel presents his project, Voice Analytics for Pathology Tracking, for which he was awarded second place and $1,000 in the Research Track.
Ithabeleng Makhetha pitches in the Idea Track with Emmanuel Makoye for their project, Sokoni Company.
Audience members watch and take photos of a presenter in the Idea Track room.
Attendees eagerly await the results of the award presentation.
Attendees pose for a photo op at the Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition.
Attendees enjoy conversation and networking at the Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition.
Attendees enjoy conversation and networking at the Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition.
Attendees enjoy conversation and networking at the Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition.
(L to R): Parshva Sanghvi and Maya Kapur from Retflix pose with their winning certificate.
(L to R): Ila Mishra and Ilaha Isali pose with their winning certificates.
Judge Ali King, director of Burton D. Morgan mentoring at Jumpstart, listens to another judge in the Venture Track room.
Franco Kraiselburd and his teammate present Asclepii, for which they were awarded $5,000 and tied for second place in the Venture Track.
Audience members applaud a presenter in the Venture Track room.
Ilaha Isali runs up to receive her award for her project, Bladder Patch for Treatment of Obstetric Fistula, for which she was awarded $3,000 and a tie for first place in the Research Track.
Ibrahim Quagraine walks up to receive his Social Impact Track first place award for Cocoa Potash, for which he was awarded $5,000.
The final event of the 2023 Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition had an energetic crowd and an inspiring group of students and alumni pitching their projects for the chance to win funding. Everyone enjoyed a lively networking hour and got a chance to sample food from local entrepreneurs Redheart (Michael Zhou and Danny Lee), Smokin’ Bettie’s BBQ Sauces (David Ball) and Bon Appetit.
Taking place on the brand new Community Space floor of the think[box], finalists pitched their ventures, ideas, and research to audience members and judges in four separate rooms.
While every finalist brought their A-game to their pitches and impressed us all, only a few could be awarded prize money.
Congratulations to this year's winners!
Research Track Winners
FIRST PLACE (TIE)
Hyperion Therapeutics: $3,000 awarded to Jennings Luu
Bladder Patch for Treatment of Obstetric Fistula: $3,000 awarded to Ilaha Isali
SECOND PLACE
Voice Analytics for Pathology Tracking: $1,000 awarded to Millan Patel, Katelyn Vlastaris, Matthew Glaros and Andrew Ye
Social Impact Track Winners
FIRST PLACE
Cocoa Potash: $5,000 awarded to Ibrahim Quagraine
SECOND PLACE
Sonali Bags: $1,000 awarded to Tanvir Hasan
Idea Track Winners
FIRST PLACE (TIE)
Retflix: $3,500 awarded to Kevin Arndt, Amy Budzichowski, Maya Kapur, Sonia Kim, Bhavya Krishna, Parshva Sanghvi
Anti-asporin Antibody: $3,500 awarded to Ila Mishra
Venture Track Winners
FIRST PLACE
Lumilin Therapeutics: $15,000 awarded to David Suh (CWR '22), Grayson Derossi, Aahana Kanyal, Kerry McConnaughay, Kendall Rogoff, Ana Salas
SECOND PLACE (TIE)
Asclepii: $5,000 awarded to Franco Kraiselburd
Lighthanded Enterprises: $5,000 awarded to Steven Burns (CWR '11, MEM ’11) and Matthew McPheeters (CWR ’12, GRS ’13, PHD ’21)
2021-22 Awardees
Idea Track
1st place: LEAF led by Evan Haug (CWR ‘21, electrical engineering and systems and control) won $7,500.
2nd place: UAVistas led by India Johnson (CWR '17, biology) won $2,500.
Venture Track
1st place: NeverEnding led by Jamie Van Doren won $15,000.
2nd place: Cleanr led by Max Pennington (CWR ‘22, chemical engineering) won $5,000.
3rd Place: Micah Specialty Foods let by Nana Kwamena Takyi Micah (MGT ‘24).
Named After Legendary Cleveland Venture Capitalists
The Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition is named after venture capital leaders David Morgenthaler and Bob Pavey, whose valued input has been a key component of the success of the CWRU Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship.
Morgenthaler, who was a mechanical engineer and made early investments in companies like Apple Computers and Manufacturing Data Systems, was an active supporter of Case Western Reserve University initiatives in management, medicine and international engagement. His venture capital firm was founded in 1968 in Cleveland, where he lived for several decades. The New York Times referred to him as someone who shaped venture capitalism, and The Wall Street Journal called him “one of venture capital’s founding fathers.”
Within a year of starting his firm, Morganthaler took on Bob Pavey as a partner. According to Pavey, Morgenthaler told him, “There's only one thing that will get you fired: telling me what you think I want to hear.”
Pavey sits on the Board of Trustees at Case Western Reserve University, and as an angel investor his focus is on seed companies run by experienced entrepreneurs in California and Ohio. His involvement with the Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition includes contributing generous funding for the prize money.
Not Just a Competition
In 2023, MPSC teams were partnered with experienced mentors, and had the opportunity to participate in Skills Labs entrepreneurial programming throughout the Spring semester:
- Creating a Compelling Pitch Deck
- Writing Your Value Proposition
- Conducting Market Research and a SWOT Analysis
- Positioning Your Messaging and Building a Brand
- Business & Team Formation and Creating an Operating Agreement
- Writing Legal Agreements (IPVC)
- Budgeting and Financial Modeling
Applications are closed for 2023 and will reopen in 2024.
MPSC is open to current students, postdocs and some alumni. If you have previously won first place at MPSC you are no longer eligible to apply. Exact details will be announced for the 2024 competition at a future date.
Yes, teams are welcome to apply, as well as singular participants. However you can only apply once for the same idea or venture.
Check back for an itinerary on the 2024 event!
Photos by Character Studies Photography