Four teams competed in the final round of Hen Hatch, UD’s premier startup funding competition, and all four won thousands of dollars from a panel of judges – plus $2,500 for travel expenses to other competitions and often time with consultants.
Funky Rat is an initiative by friends Amanda Membrado and Hunter Wills to upcycle clothing. Their startup involves using embroidery and screen-printing to enhance items that they have bought at Goodwill, online and from other sources. “Old clothes made new,” Membrado told the judges.
So far, they have sold 700 items and hit $20,000 in revenue. They said that they’re buying each item for an average of $7, devoting two to 10 minutes for printing or embroidery and selling the pieces for an average of $28.50.
Both are entrepreneurship majors, with fashion minors and interest in reducing waste in fashion.
Funky Rat won five hours of accounting services from Belfint Lyons Shuman, the $1,000 audience choice award and $5,000 from the judges.
“We’ve started this as a hobby and just a way for us to hang out and be creative, and now we get to have a business and create an impact,” Membrado said.
Heard, Chef! has a three-word elevator pitch: “Tinder for recipes.” Users go through a curated feed of recipes and swipe left and right based on qualities like time, ingredients and cuisine. And what the app calls their “herd” (families and whoever else is joining them in their meals) can do the same, at least overcoming the drudgery of deciding what to cook and hopefully hitting on matches that everyone should enjoy.
They are partnering with food companies for the recipes, and those firms and other companies could be a source of in-app advertising revenue. Other revenue could come from app users (going on the freemium model) and a 2% cut on Instacart orders prompted by Heard, Chef! users.
The startup was founded by Evyn Appel, Mikey Bocelli and Tommy Kramer. (“Heard, chef” is kitchen slang meaning “I acknowledge what you just said.)
Heard, Chef! won 10 hours in consulting from Placers, 10 hours of consulting from Epic Marketing Consultants, five hours of accounting from Belfint Lyons Shuman, $1,000 in ShopRite gift cards and $7,000 from the judges.
STEMpathy envisions after-school programs for elementary students that combine the hard scientific disciplines known as STEM with the soft feelings of empathy for people who are differently abled.
“There are better ways to be a better advocate,” said co-founder Kevin Foerster, noting the benefits of tackling both societal issues with young children who have open minds.
He and co-founder Claudia McCormick, who are both engineering majors, field-tested their ideas at Lorewood Grove Elementary School near Middletown. They are aiming in particular at Title 1 schools, which receive federal funding to help students from low-income families. They hope to tap into that extra funding for the $2,500 they propose for their programming.
The children learn science, technology, engineering and mathematics through some basic models that are customized for each group. “Every kid is different” in their abilities, McCormick said.
STEMpathy received $4,750 from the judges.
Maker Wear focuses on “clothing that protects makers … from potentially messy or unsafe situations,” according to founder Jenna Tomasch.
She has designed a one-size-fits-most set of overalls that combines the best features of aprons, protective clothing and clothing that can just store stuff. Multiple elements combine for the flexibility of the clothing: a belt for waist adjustment, adjustable straps and elastic loops.
Tomasch, a fashion major, has so far handmade (out of a sturdy cotton) and sold 14 pairs of her Maker Pants, half to UD’s Pearson Hall MakerSpace. She figures that America’s 2,000-plus makerspaces, its 1,000-plus ceramics studios and its millions of parents are all potential markets.
She’s already branching out into other products, like aprons and tote bags.
Maker Wear received 10 hours of consulting from Placers, $500 in ShopRite gift cards, the Moskowitz Award and $7,250 from the judges.
Hen Hatch was judged by Tate Rarick. managing director of AccessSync and a Horn advisory board member; Scott Carter; Sueann Hall; and Amira Idris Radović, the 2017 Hen Hatch winner and CEO/founder of TheraV.
Fourteen startups, mostly created by undergraduates, shared their passion projects in the Innovation Showcase earlier in the day of the Innovation Fest.
Dress Fragile won the $1,000 audience choice award. It is a brand of secondhand clothing created by Cade Krueger, who graduated in 2024 with an entrepreneurship degree.
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 U.S., horn Entrepreneurship was built and is actively supported by successful entrepreneurs, empowering aspiring innovators as they pursue new ideas for a better world.
