The middle of a pandemic is an unlikely time to be thinking about elevator pitches, but two teams from the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences’ (SMHS) MD Program are set to make their mark in the final round of the GW New Venture Competition, April 16.
Just 12 teams remain from a field of 428 participants, the largest pool in the competition’s 12-year history. GW’s New Venture Competition is the eighth largest collegiate competition in the country and provides GW students, faculty, and alumni with real-world experiences in entrepreneurship. More than 150 judges from around the world helped narrow the field. The competition is divided into three categories — Tech, New, and Social Ventures — with four teams facing off against each other.
Tech Ventures have new proprietary technology, discovery, or innovation at their core. These ventures should have an intellectual property component and evidence that they will work in the real world. New Ventures are commercial ventures including services, products, or businesses that take a unique approach to meeting a need in the market while driving substantial market impact. Social Ventures offer a solution to a pressing social or environmental problem that drives change using nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid models.
The next step in the contest is the Viewer’s Choice Award based on the number of votes teams get from the general public.
RestEasy
A trio of first-year medical students, Shelly Mishra, Aditya Maddali, and Krithika Rao comprise the RestEasy team competing in the Tech Venture category. RestEasy is developing a wearable pediatric asthma monitor that quickly detects and alerts stressed parents about nighttime asthma attacks. Watch Video Pitch.
ProjectRealm
The second SMHS team, Project REALM, includes first-year medical students Rushi Challa, Nandan Srinavasa, Hoon Min, and Jacob Shalkevich. They are competing in the Social Ventures category. Project REALM collects discarded medical supplies that are sterile and unused from hospitals to redistribute them to local free clinics. Watch Video Pitch.
Winners of the Viewer’s Choice Award will take home $10,000. The overall GW New Venture Competition first place teams for each track will win $20,000. Second through fourth place finalists will win $5,000.
