The Davidson Entrepreneurship Network (DEN) Innovation Showcase brought together student entrepreneurs, community innovators, and supporters for an evening of inspiration, competition, and celebration. The event highlighted ventures at every stage of development, from rapid-fire student ideation to established community businesses making meaningful social impact.
Showcasing Innovation Across Campus
Throughout the evening, attendees explored tabled presentations from past Try It Fund winners Pablo Quintero ’28, Taehee Kim ’27, and Sumin Kang ’27. The 2025 R. Craig and Sheila Yoder Applied Research Fellow Pacis Nkubito ’28 presented his research with Gigs For Us, while the Techstars Startup Weekend winning team Dermalytixs (comprising Arya Modi ’29, Casey O’Keefe ’29, Jennet Ylyasova ’29, Cal Ross ’29, Leeya Chaudhuri ’29, and Maria Kemp) showcased their groundbreaking work in healthcare innovation.
Idea Sprint Competition: Rapid Innovation in Action
The Davidson Entrepreneurship Club’s signature Idea Sprint competition challenged student teams to develop complete business concepts in just one month. Five innovative teams presented solutions addressing real challenges facing the Davidson community:
Winner: Left No Crumbs!
Taking home the audience vote, Left No Crumbs! is tackling both food waste and food insecurity on campus with an elegant solution. The student-led startup alerts students to free catered meals available across campus through push notifications on Davidson One. Whenever an event has leftover food that would otherwise be discarded, students receive real-time updates showing what’s available, portion sizes, dietary information, and location details.
“We’re honored to have received the IdeaSprint grant and are currently working on integrating our service directly into the Davidson One platform,” shared the team, which includes Maria Jose Sarabia Vargas ’28, Isabella Crescente Martinelli ’29, Esther Laker ’27, Zainab Sawani ’28, and Rainul Hakim ’29.
Other Notable Idea Sprint Finalists:
Wisetree aimed to revolutionize academic planning at Davidson by creating an AI-powered platform to help students strategically fill out WebTree, the college’s course registration system. By taking a short survey of student preferences, Wisetree would generate optimized course selection trees to maximize the chances of getting desired classes. Team members: Jonathan Arenas ’29, Rohan Mody ’28, Leon Baert ’29, Elijah Arrington ’29, Ezra Lefkowitz-Rao ’29, and Javier Sanchez ’29.
Cats Styles proposed a platform connecting students needing styling services (hair, makeup, nails, and more) with fellow students who can provide them and local Davidson professionals offering discounted rates. Team members: Shalom Badze ’29, Petronila Sakwa ’26, and Ezra Pearson ’29.
Multihealcare addressed a critical need for international students navigating the American healthcare system. This centralized health portal would provide insurance coverage information, connect students with multilingual local providers, offer language translation services, and include a glossary of medical terms. Team members: Sharon Song ’28, Tanaka Makoni ’28, Biwon Ng ’29, and Elie Jerjees ’28.
Flash developed an agentic web platform with a Chrome extension that uses Claude API to automatically fill forms with saved user data. The solution promises to streamline repetitive form-filling tasks like job applications and tax filing while ensuring accuracy. Team members: Murtaza Nikzad ’27, Tenzing Dorji ’28, and Musa Nisar ’29.
Avinger Impact Fund: Fueling Student Innovation
Named in honor of Robert L. Avinger, Jr. ’60, a member of the Davidson Class of 1960 and professor of Economics from 1967-1980, the Avinger Impact Fund provides student innovators with resources, mentorship, and support to transform their ideas into reality. This year’s winners exemplify the creativity and initiative the fund was created to foster:
Zip Campus
Daulet Berdikulov ’28, Isaiah Dinar ’28, and Cillian Hallinan ’28 are revolutionizing campus transportation with a student-exclusive rideshare marketplace prioritizing safety, affordability, and community connection. You can learn more about Zip Campus here.
Campus Swap
Henry Russell ’26 is addressing college move-out waste by transforming discarded dorm essentials into affordable finds through sustainable pop-up stores, diverting millions of pounds of usable goods from landfills.
CaseUp
Anushri Modi ’26 and Srijit Banerjee ’26 are democratizing interview preparation with AI-powered, role-specific mock interviews that make professional development accessible to all aspiring candidates.
A special highlight came from Victoria Ochieng ’28, the Spring 2025 Avinger Impact Fund winner and founder of Koredo Koir, who shared an inspiring update on her Kenyan business and the transformative impact the fund has had in helping her team turn their vision into reality.
CATS Pitch Competition: Comprehensive Support for Community Entrepreneurs
Made possible by a generous grant from Truist Charitable Fund, the CATS (Capital, Advisors, Talent, Space) Pitch Competition invited for-profit business founders to compete for comprehensive prize packages providing not just funding, but the complete ecosystem support entrepreneurs need to thrive.
First Place: Keep Good – Aleksandra Stein ($10,000)
Aleksandra is simultaneously addressing food insecurity and food waste through innovative freeze-drying technology. Keep Good transforms fresh surplus food into nutrient-dense, shelf-stable meals requiring no kitchen, stove, or refrigeration. By partnering with food equity organizations and nonprofits, Keep Good helps these organizations extend their impact, preserve nutrition, and serve more people with dignity, all while reducing landfill waste.
Second Place: Three Strands Recovery Wear – Leah Wyrick Smith ($6,500)
Recognizing a significant gap in post-surgical care for breast cancer patients, Leah created Three Strands Recovery Wear, which offers specially designed recovery bras providing comfort, support, and dignity during the healing process. Her venture addresses both practical and emotional needs, helping patients feel more comfortable and confident during recovery.
Third Place: Red Racer Books – Andy Amendola ($3,500)
As a parent and motorsports enthusiast, Andy created Red Racer Books to fill a void in children’s literature. His vibrant, educational books introduce young readers to the exciting world of motorsports while promoting STEM fields, teamwork, and diversity. By showcasing various roles beyond the driver’s seat, Andy is inspiring the next generation to explore countless career paths in the racing industry.
2025 FACES of Innovation Award: Jean Pierre “JP” LeJacq
A highlight of the evening was honoring Jean Pierre “JP” LeJacq with the 2025 FACES of Innovation Award. As one of the Hurt Hub’s first coworking members and a true community cornerstone, JP has spent years proving that the best technology doesn’t just solve problems. It connects people.
Technology with Heart
Through his role as co-founder and CTO of multiple ventures including Quoin and Salus, JP has built an extraordinary career spanning four decades of technical expertise. Yet what truly sets him apart isn’t just his track record implementing complex systems. It’s how he uses that expertise to strengthen the entire community.
From mentoring student entrepreneurs in pitch competitions to supporting hackathons and attending nearly every Hurt Hub event, JP has been integral to the ecosystem. He’s also been a consistent philanthropic supporter of the mission.
Fostering Collaboration and Connection
JP’s impact extends throughout the coworking community, fostering the collaborations that define the Hurt Hub’s success. When fellow members Dr. Mahdi Ajjan and Alicia Ibanez of OptiMed Doctors needed a new website, JP and his Quoin team partnered with another Hurt Hub member and Davidson alum, Ben Allison of Benco Productions, to deliver a solution showcasing the power of the ecosystem.
As JP himself noted, “The Hurt Hub enables in-person collaboration with members that we’ve worked with for years. It’s the long-term relationships that the Hurt Hub sponsors that makes the difference.”
JP embodies the Hurt Hub’s core values of Freedom, Integrity, and Inclusion. He uses his decades of experience to create freedom through opportunity, demonstrates integrity in every interaction, and ensures technology becomes a tool for inclusion rather than division.
A Night to Remember
The DEN Innovation Showcase exemplified what happens when a community comes together to support innovation at every stage. From students rapidly prototyping ideas in a month, to undergraduates building ventures solving campus challenges, to community entrepreneurs creating businesses with real social impact, the event celebrated innovation in all its forms.
From addressing food waste on campus to revolutionizing recovery wear for cancer patients, from democratizing interview prep to preserving fresh food for those in need, the winners are proving that entrepreneurship is about more than just building businesses. It’s about solving real problems and making a positive difference in the world.
Acknowledgments
This event was made possible through the generous support of community partners and donors:
The Try It Fund has been made possible through generous support from the Charlie Hinnant ’72 Fund, Davidson alums, and other community sponsors. The Try It Fund is a grant competition that awards Davidson students with up to $1,000 to pursue a creative or innovative idea.
The R. Craig and Sheila Yoder Applied Research Fellowship supports one student each summer for research with a faculty member and an external mentor. This opportunity is funded by R. Craig and Sheila Yoder.
The Avinger Impact Fund was established in honor of Robert L. Avinger, Jr., a member of the Davidson Class of 1960 and professor of Economics from 1967-1980. The fund fuels the vision, qualities, and passions of innovators, with a focus on creativity, energy, and initiative that will lead to success in future endeavors.
The CATS Pitch Competition was made possible by a generous grant from Truist Charitable Fund, enabling comprehensive support (Capital, Advisors, Talent, and Space) to emerging entrepreneurs in the community.
Thank you to everyone who attended, competed, and supported these incredible entrepreneurs. Here’s to the next chapter of these entrepreneurial journeys!
