Babson Tech Firm Wins $15,000 in Startup Rounds Business Contest
The Babson Entrepreneurship Club’s Startup Rounds Business Contest at the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business – Babson College, has awarded a $15,000 first prize to HigherMe, a Babson tech startup designed to help retail employers to hire qualified workers.
Founded by Babson Graduate students Rob Hunter and Evan Lodge, HigherMe is a website and mobile application that gives prospective employees the chance to submit short one-minute video introductions to retail establishments. Employers in turn are better able to consider the candidate’s interpersonal skills that are essential to helping them succeed in a retail environment.
Startup Rounds was founded by Babson MBA candidate Paul Hammond. The contest qualifies startups for investment. Companies apply to compete in a contest for support, recognition, customers and capital. The top scoring startups advance to later rounds, establishing credibility, proving concept, gaining recognition, furthering opportunities to raise money and generate sales, and ultimately winning cash prizes.
The Startup Rounds Contest was open to any company founded by Babson undergraduates, graduate students, or alumni with less than $1 million in earned revenues. Each company had to demonstrate the strength of their business idea and network by winning support through social media.
Over $30,000 in prizes were awarded, including $20,000 in cash and $10,000 in legal resources (Pepper Hamilton and Pierce Atwood); $25,000- $100,000 in real-estate consultation and speculation fees donated by the VP of Colliers International, Boston; Bostinno press and Mass Challenge opportunities; and meetings with Rough Draft Ventures with the opportunity to raise up to $25,000.
Babson Business School’s student and alumni entrepreneurs compete in B.E.T.A Challenge
Eighteen businesses helmed by undergraduates, graduate students and alumni have been selected as semifinalists to compete in Babson’s College’s Babson Entrepreneurial Thought and Action (BETA) Challenge on April 2, with finalists announced on April 4th and presenting their ventures on April 10 during Founder’s Day activities on campus.
Winners in three categories ─ alumni entrepreneurs, undergraduate and graduate student entrepreneurs ─ will each win a grand prize of $20,000 in cash and “services in kind” donations from corporate sponsors. In addition, $2,500 will be awarded to the two other finalist ventures in each of the three competitions. B.E.T.A. Challenge entrepreneurs must demonstrate success in reaching major milestones achieved through action.
Six of the finalist businesses are from current students at the F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business, and range from apps such as BlueGift (Jad Antouh M’14), which allows users to create social funding campaigns in order to give their birthday gifts to a social cause, HigherMe (Rob Hunter M ’14 and Evan Lodge M’14) both a website and app that gives prospective employees the chance to submit one-minute videos to retail establishments, thus giving prospective employers a glimpse of the interpersonal qualities needed to succeed in retail environments, or micro businesses such as FedWell Pet Foods (Emily Lagasse M’15) which seeks to provide better quality food, made with the highest quality ingredients, to dogs.
Corporate sponsors for the event include Samuel Goldstein & Co., Pepper Hamilton LLP and Pierce Atwood LLP. Prizes will be awarded on April 10th after the finalists’ presentations.
