The Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition is the annual flagship event hosted by the Veale Institute for Entrepreneurship. This pitch competition is for students and early alumni with a propensity for innovation in one of three tracks: venture, idea and social impact. Finalists pitch for an opportunity to win funding from a generous prize pool of $45,000. It’s fun, it’s experiential and it’s your chance to take your business or idea to the next level.
Not sure if you’re ready to apply?
Eligibility and participation in the competition
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, a mechanical engineer and early investor in companies like Apple Computers and Manufacturing Data Systems, was once called “one of venture capital’s founding fathers” by the Wall Street Journal. He 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.
Within a year of starting his firm, Morgenthaler 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. One of his many contributions involves providing generous funding and support for the Morgenthaler-Pavey Startup Competition.
Awardees
Idea Track
First Place (Tie)
Diffy: $3,500 awarded to Andrew Shereshevsky and Jonathan Burton
Data AI: $3,500 awarded to Nandini Rajaram Siva, MD and Mark Orland, MD
Research Track
Third Place
Mandibular Fracture Repair System: $500 awarded to David Suh (CWR '22)
Second Place (Tie)
HODA: $1,750 awarded to Zoe Sekyonda and William Wulftange
InstaGTx: $1,750 awarded to Lauren Switala
First Place
PhotoSorb: $3,000 awarded to Yang Yang
Social Impact Track
Second Place
Paramarsh: $2,000 awarded to Raghvendra Omprakash Yadav and Binayek Tiwari
First Place
eLEXir: $4,000 awarded to Krupa Venkatesan and Menaka Wijeratne
Venture Track
Second Place
SellAnalytix: $10,000 awarded to Ryan Hurley
First Place
First Place
Asclepii: $15,000 awarded to Franco Kraiselburd (CWR '24)
Idea Track
Second Place
MAWE Technologies: $2,000 awarded to Tumi Adeeko
First Place
HemoSan: $5,000 awarded to Ryan Rilinger
Research Track
Second Place
AGTR2 Agonist Lung Therapeutics: $3,000 awarded to Lauren Leh
First Place
Artemis Platform: $4,000 awarded to Ixchel Robles Ruiz
Social Impact Track
Second Place
Voteable: $1,000 awarded to Eric Elizes
First Place
tekSafari: $5,000 awarded to Ignas Kamugisha
Venture Track
Third Place
SellAnalytix: $4,000 awarded to Ryan Hurley
Second Place
SearchOwl: $5,000 awarded to Jadon Wyant
First Place
Lighthanded Enterprises: $16,000 awarded to Brecken Blackburn
Idea Track
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
Research Track
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
Second Place
Sonali Bags: $1,000 awarded to Tanvir Hasan
First Place
Cocoa Potash: $5,000 awarded to Ibrahim Quagraine
Venture Track
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)
First Place
Lumilin Therapeutics: $15,000 awarded to David Suh (CWR '22), Grayson Derossi, Aahana Kanyal, Kerry McConnaughay, Kendall Rogoff, Ana Salas
Idea Track
Second Place
LEAF: $7,500 awarded to Evan Haug (CWR ‘21)
First Place
HemoSan: $5,000 awarded to Ryan Rilinger
Venture Track
Third Place
Micah Specialty Foods: $5,000 awarded to Nana Kwamena Takyi Micah (MGT ‘24)
Second Place
Cleanr: $5,000 awarded to Max Pennington (CWR ‘22)
First Place
Micah Specialty Foods: $5,000 awarded to Nana Kwamena Takyi Micah (MGT ‘24)
Still have questions?
Contact Jasmine Ongole (jao92@case.edu) or Stacey Lotz (sjm119@case.edu).