MHS Students First High Schoolers to Compete in Collegiate Entrepreneurship Competition
Posted on 04/25/2018
Mason High School freshman Pranav Yenugu and junior Juan Carlos Gaudiano Del Bosque placed second runner-up in the IQ-E Pitch Competition on April 11. The competition was organized by the UC Center for Entrepreneurship and Commercialization.
"We were the first high schoolers who qualified to attend this pitching competition where we went head to head with college undergraduates and graduates," shared Yenugu.
These students also tied for first place at UC's Shark Tank LAUNCH! Pitch Competition earlier this year.
“It was a pleasure to work with Pranav and Juan Carlos in LAUNCH! where they tied for first from a field of high achieving students from across Cincinnati," shared Dr. Thomas Dalziel, Executive Director, Center for Entrepreneurship and Commercialization UC.
"As winners of this event, they were invited to join StartupUC, a business incubator program that meets weekly on Wednesday evenings at UC. Throughout the 2017-18 school year, the SafeDeliv team has worked side by side with UC faculty, graduate and undergraduate UC business, engineering, IT/IS and design students, as well as seasoned entrepreneurs to prepare to launch their business," added Dr. Dalziel. "Their work in this program has been exemplary and earned them the privilege of competing at UC’s IQ E-Pitch Competition. It is very gratifying to see firsthand the hard work of these students, feel the care of their families and faculty mentors from Mason High School, and support them personally in our UC programs. Their victory was well deserved and they have bright futures ahead of them!”
In both competitions, the team pitched SafeDeliv, a mail and package delivery security technology. SafeDeliv is a little gadget that sits in a mailbox, and is accompanied by a mobile app. Whenever the mailbox is opened, the device records video and audio, and sends an alert to the linked phone. It will also allow for previously recorded videos to be viewed.
"We had a prototype that we showcased at the LAUNCH! Pitch, and are currently working on creating a market ready version," explained Yenugu. "It has been a very exciting journey for the last few months, and we are looking forward to releasing the product as soon as possible."