The 707 Innovation Hub and Brady Corporation on Friday, April 12, will award $21,000 in funding to the winner of the Brewed Ideas Challenge, an annual business plan competition open to current Marquette students.
A winner and runner-up will be awarded in two categories: social venture and traditional business.
The finalists in the social venture track include:
- Closed loop system for recycling plastics on campus
- Electric stoves providing healthier, smoke-free cooking
- Refurbished bike sales and rentals
- Student led initiative to increase ideas and innovation across campus
- Made-to-order Nigerian women’s fashion line
The finalists in the traditional business track include:
- Curated box service
- Vegan ice cream
- Men’s grooming
- Researching health related impact of hemp
- Personalized sports website and application
The students will begin presenting their ideas in a “Shark Tank”-like setting to the judges at 1:15 p.m. with winners announced at 4:30 p.m.
The competition will be judged by two representatives from Brady Corporation: Thomas Feldner, president of workplace safety, and Katie Milbeck, Innovation Incubator senior manager. Two Marquette alumni will also judge the competition: Asim Khan, co-founder of ZYN Holistic Wellness, and Marianne Szymanski, founder and president of Toy Tip, Inc. and entrepreneurship professor at the University of Southern California.
The Brewed Ideas Challenge is sponsored by Brady Corporation and programmed by The Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Initiative.