awards for new business ideas
The Yale Entrepreneurial Society (YES) and Net Impact awarded $50,000 in total prizes to six groups of would-be entrepreneurs with the best ideas for new business at the Innovation Summit and Y50K Awards Ceremony on April 12.
In the For-Profit Category, first place and a check for $12,500 went to Charles Lu, Yale's associate director of technology and systems at the Development Center for Medical Informatics, and his partners Anthony M. Uzzo and Anthony Uzzo, Jr. for their proposal "Fuel Comm," short for Fuel Communications Solutions.
Fuel Comm integrates high-technology wireless communications, fuel oil and propane tank monitoring, and automated inventory management into a comprehensive service for subscribing dealers. The winning team's mission is to provide cost-effective tank monitoring service to propane and fuel oil dealers through the deployment of continuous remote tank sensing and state-of-the-art wireless communications equipment, integrated with the internet, for convenient customer information access.
Second place and a $7,500 check went to School of Management (SOM) students Peter Fuchs, Jeff Clark, Stephen Elia, Rob Johnson and Jill Gibson for "Jet Direct, Inc.," which will operate a shared private jet shuttle service for corporations by finding companies that have overlapping travel patterns and selling vacant seats to them under long-term contracts.
Third place and $5,000 went to SOM students Meagen Gould, Niels Nielson, Tomislav Culo and Rachel Gregg and their partner Valerie Schaefer for "FlyWell," which will introduce exercise facilities within major airports for travelers who are on layovers, bumped by airlines or awaiting their flights.
In the Social Entrepreneurship Category, first place and $12,500 was awarded to Calhoun College sophomores Aaron Tang, Adam Brenner, Paul Levin, Ethan Hutt and Charles Ambler for "Our Education," which will empower student voice in education reform through the publication of a magazine and by hosting conferences that will serve as a forum for students to discuss their education experiences and participate in debates over contemporary school reform issues.
Second place and $7,500 went to Matthew Dubeck '01, SOM student Sarah Kemler, Dave Lerman '04 of Pierson College, David Mount ' 03 of Saybrook College, and Matthew Sanchez and Kevin Sladek, both seniors in Timothy Dwight College, along with their partner Kyle Derkacz. Their proposal, "Media Liquid," will serve as a conduit allowing non-profit companies to purchase public service announcements created by freelance, independent and student videographers for a fraction of the usual cost.
Third place and $5,000 went to Charl du Plessis '98 SOM and graduate student Tanya Goodman for "Semester on Safari," which offers international students the opportunity to earn college credit while traveling and doing community work in southern and eastern Africa.
Entrepreneurs, chief executive officers and creative leaders from a variety of industries and business sectors spoke at the April 12 summit about topics that are shaping business and society. Keynote speakers included Charles MacCormack of Save the Children, Seth Goldman of Honest Tea and Mark Rosenthal of MTV Networks.
The summit was made possible in part by lead sponsor, Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault (www.tht.com).
A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting entrepreneurship in the Yale community, YES was founded in 1999 by two undergraduate students looking for an outlet to express their entrepreneurial spirit. Today, with over 1,000 members, YES is Yale's largest student-run organization. Connecting undergraduates, graduate and professional students, faculty and alumni, YES supports Yale-led entrepreneurial activities in New Haven and throughout the country.
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