Hen Hatch, Horn Entrepreneurship’s premier startup funding competition, has finally come to a close after the third and final round was held on Thursday, Dec. 1 at The Tower Audion at UD’s STAR Campus. The final round marks the culmination of a months-long competition, with many of our teams having worked for years on their startups. The six teams that moved on from the semifinal round showcased their most persuasive pitches for the event, each vying for 1st place spot in their respective tracks and the prizes that come with it.
Finalist team SkipRope’s co-founder Alexander Pugliese shared what pitching in the final round of Hen Hatch meant to him:
“When I first came here, I came here for the entrepreneurship program. And there were two things I really wanted to be a part of, that being summer founders and Hen Hatch. I applied to Hen Hatch two or three times. The first time, I didn't get to the semifinals, the second time, I got to the semi-finals, and then the third time I got to the finals. So if people think that it's just first-time luck, it's never that. You’ve got to keep trying because when it comes to startups and entrepreneurship, you're gonna fail a lot. And in turn, you just got to keep going, you can't give up. But with that being said, each time I did apply to hen hatch, I went in with a different venture. And eventually, you're going to find a venture that has true value that people will validate.”
Thank you to all of the people who gave their time to help make Hen Hatch 2022 a success, including the supporting Horn Entrepreneurship faculty and staff, our judges, and most importantly the competing startup teams.
The competition featured $50,000 in funding and an assortment of in-kind prizes such as startup resources, venture support, special mentorship and other services. Horn Entrepreneurship will also continue to support all teams in their growth.
At our final round we were also joined by Hen Hatch semifinalists and other startups for an Innovation Showcase, during which audience members could walk around, network with the young entrepreneurs, and learn about the unique projects they have worked on tirelessly. Attendees were also invited to vote for their favorite startup in the showcase, through which they awarded Nicholai Williamson and his startup Bonafyde the Innovation Showcase Audience Choice Award and the $1000 cash prize that came with it.
This year, we were joined by well-renowned judges with expertise in a variety of areas relating to our pitching teams’ startups. A special thank you to our Hen Hatch 2022 judges:
Annemarie Tierney, Founder and Principal at Liquid Advisors Inc.
Von Homer, Ph.D, Assistant Professor at Delaware State University & Co-Founder of Hx Innovations, Inc.
Bob Dietzel, Co-Founder & Principal at KMRD Partners, Inc. Risk Management & Human Capital Solutions
Terri Kelly, CEO, W.L. Gore & Associates
Ken Anderson, Senior Managing Director at Wakanda Global Trust, LLC
Hen Hatch is honored to host such amazing judges and we are extremely grateful for their efforts. Additionally, we would like to thank our sponsors who make it possible for this competition to take place:
Shoprite
Finally, the Hen Hatch 2022 Winners:
Pre-Revenue Track:
Little Bob Technologies - Garrison Davis, International Business (MS), Class of 2022
Little Bob Technologies received a $2,000 cash prize, $2500 in reimbursable funds to support participation in third-party entrepreneurship competitions, and a year membership to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
Agreen Tech - Yuefei (Mike) Tao, MBA, Class of 2023, Sarah Megivern, MFA, Class of 2024
Agreen Tech received a cash prize of $3,400 along with 5 hours of accounting services from Belfint Lyons Shuman, a AAA Mid-Atlantic year membership, and $2500 in reimbursable funds from Horn to support participation in third-party entrepreneurship competitions.
Dear Volunteer - Isabella Duarte, Entrepreneurship, Class of 2024
Dear Volunteer received $3,750 in cash prizes, $2,500 in reimbursable funds from Horn for third-party startup competitions and travel costs, and the in-kind gifts of 10 hours of business consulting services from Placers, $1000 in Shoprite gift cards, and a year-long AAA Mid-Atlantic membership.
Post-Revenue Track:
Stem So(ul)cial - N'Dea Irvin-Choy, Biomedical Engineering (PhD), Class of 2023, Camille Smith
Stem So(ul)cial received a $1,850 cash prize and $2500 to support participation in third-party entrepreneurship competitions, as well the in-kind gift of a year-long AAA Mid-Atlantic membership.
CompSciLib - John Ye, Marketing and Finance, Class of 2024 & David Bichara, Biomedical Engineering, Class of 2023
CompSciLib was awarded a $4,250 cash prize and $2500 to support participation in third-party entrepreneurship competitions. They also received in-kind gifts of 5 hours of accounting services from Belfint Lyons Shuman, $500 in gift cards from Shoprite, and a year-long AAA Mid-Atlantic membership.
SkipRope - Alexander Pugliese, Entrepreneurship, Class of 2022
Skiprope received a $4,750 cash prize, including the $2,000 Jeremy A. Moskowitz '94 and Laura Rubinstein Founder Award. They also were given 10 hours of accounting service from Placers, a year-long AAA Mid-Atlantic membership, and $2500 in reimbursable funding to support participation in third-party entrepreneurship competitions. They also won the Audience Choice prize of $1,000.
Horn Entrepreneurship is extremely proud of all our finalists and this amazing program. We look forward to seeing all the success to come in the future!
About Horn Entrepreneurship
Horn Entrepreneurship serves as the creative engine for entrepreneurship education and advancement at the University of Delaware. Currently ranked among the best entrepreneurship programs in the US, Horn Entrepreneurship was built and is actively supported by successful entrepreneurs, empowering aspiring innovators as they pursue new ideas for a better world.
