New Venture Challenge 2022

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2022


TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome...................................................................................................................................... 1 Event Schedule........................................................................................................................... 2 Speaker: Kerry Ebersole Singh.............................................................................................. 3 NVC Partners.............................................................................................................................. 4 Teams............................................................................................................................................ 7 Elevator Pitch Competition............................................................................................... 8 7-Minute Presentations (Main Street, Social Mission & High Growth) ............... 17 Preliminary Teams.............................................................................................................. 21 Awards.......................................................................................................................................... 22 Gallery & Showcase.................................................................................................................. 23 Judges.......................................................................................................................................... 26 Thank You & Sponsors............................................................................................................. 28 Jeff Thomas................................................................................................................................. 29


WELCOME It is our pleasure to welcome you to our 10th Annual New Venture Challenge (NVC). We are beyond excited to host an in-person event this spring after two years of hosting an online version of the New Venture Challenge. As we continue to expand the innovation ecosystem at CMU and in our community, it is exciting to share that we have partnered with several departments across campus. Our campus partners this year include the College of the Arts and Media, the College of Science and Engineering, and the College of Education and Human Services. You can learn more about these partnerships on page 4.

Chris Moberg, Dean College of Business Administration Central Michigan University

You may have noticed a slight naming change as we work to rebrand the New Venture Challenge and several other events hosted by the Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship (IBIE). Our goal is to make entrepreneurship at CMU accessible to students at any level of commitment. In order to do so, we have adapted the workshop series and added several new activities and programming events throughout the year hosted by the IBIE. Through these skill-building events, boot camps, and networking opportunities, students have spent countless hours formulating and refining their ideas, value propositions, and ventures. We appreciate the supporting group of CMU alumni, faculty, and other members of our entrepreneurial and business community who served as mentors and advisors throughout this journey. This year we have a 7-minute presentation track and a 2-minute pitch track in which students compete. Once again, we also welcome student teams from Michigan Technological University (MTU) to compete in the 2022 NVC. In total, we have 51 teams competing for $67,000 in prizes. This includes the Student Gallery & Showcase that encompasses our partners from across campus. This is our first step towards a true community-wide showcase and celebration of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at CMU.

Julie Messing, Director Isabella Bank Institute for Entrepreneurship Central Michigan University

We want to thank the many supporters and stakeholders who help make the NVC possible. In addition to our generous sponsors, we also thank our mentors, advisors, faculty, and judges. Your generous efforts have made a true impact on our students and their success. Finally, we also offer a sincere note of appreciation for the visionaries and team that brought NVC to CMU over 10 years ago and developed it into the hallmark program that it is today. Thank you to Charles Crespy, Jeff Thomas, Bruce Marble, Ross Noel, and Julie Baker, each of whom played a key role in the last in-person NVC in 2019; we will miss your presence this year and plan to continue making this program shine and thrive each year. We are steadfast in our appreciation for all of our supporters’ commitment to the success of our next generation of Michigan entrepreneurs and to Central Michigan University!

Chris Moberg, Dean

Julie Messing, Director

David Nows, Chair

David Nows, Chair Entrepreneurship Department College of Business Administration Central Michigan University


SCHEDULE TIME

EVENT

LOCATION

12:30 PM

Event Check-In

Health Professions Building North Entrance

1:00 - 2:50 PM

Elevator Pitch Competition

Auditorium (HP 1020)

2:50 - 3:00 PM

Break

3:00 - 3:50 PM

Full Presentations: Main Street

Auditorium (HP 1020)

3:50 - 4:40 PM

Full Presentations: Social Mission

Auditorium (HP 1020)

4:40 - 5:30 PM

Full Presentations: High Growth

Auditorium (HP 1020)

5:30 - 7:00 PM

Gallery, Showcase & Strolling Dinner

Health Professions Building Hallway

7:00 PM

Awards & Recognition

Auditorium (HP 1020)

» CBA Dean Chris Moberg » President Robert Davies » Speaker: Kerry Ebersole Singh » NVC Partners » Jeff Thomas Awards » Gallery Awards » Elevator Pitch Awards » Full Presentation Awards

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New Venture Challenge 2022


SPEAKER Current Focus As the Chief Talent Solutions & Engagement Officer, Kerry leads MEDC’s strategic focus of developing high-wage skills growth by working with businesses, higher education institutions and communities to better attract, retain and cultivate the talent critical to growing the state’s economy.

Professional Background Prior to serving at MEDC, Kerry was Director of the Office of Sixty by 30 in the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), where she established the office. During her time as Director, Kerry launched two instrumental programs, Futures for Frontliners and MI Reconnect, which aim to create a more talented workforce by providing a tuition-free path for Michiganders pursuing in-demand certificates or associate degrees. In this capacity, she also served as the Chair of the MI STEM Council, designed to improve and promote innovation and collaboration in STEM education and prepare students for careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. She also served as the lead staff supporting the state’s Workforce Development Board, helping to create a comprehensive, accessible and successful workforce development system. In conjunction with Kerry’s time at LEO, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in 2021 tapped her to lead the Protect Michigan Commission’s community engagement strategy, which aimed to educate residents on the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines.

Kerry Ebersole Singh Chief Talent Solutions & Engagement Officer Michigan Economic Development Corporation

Before she returned to state government by leading the Be Counted 2020 Census effort on behalf of Gov. Whitmer, Kerry operated her own independent consulting firm, serving a variety of clients across business, nonprofit and philanthropic sectors. She has experience creating and developing strategy for a variety of national, state and local government programs and advocacy campaigns, as well as nonprofit social organizations and causes. Kerry began her career 25 years ago in Michigan’s competitive political and legislative arena. As a former chief of staff to Barbara Farrah, a legislative liaison for the Department of Information Technology and constituent relations staff in the House of Representatives, Kerry has proved time and again to be a multisector professional adept at leading solutions around critical issues facing Michigan.

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NVC PARTNERS Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity are at the heart of what we do at CMU. We aim to connect people from different backgrounds and disciplines to inspire design thinking, problem solving, and creating something new. As the New Venture Challenge continues to evolve and expand the innovation ecosystem at Central, we want to recognize our partners from across campus who offer student experiences in these areas. This year four colleges have come together to showcase some of their top innovations and creations including: the College of Business Administration, College of the Arts and Media, College of Science and Engineering, and College of Education and Human Services. Our vision is to elevate NVC to a community-wide showcase of the amazing developments and ventures from CMU and our regional partners. We are thrilled that three outstanding programs have partnered with us and will be featured in the Showcase: » Fashion Design & Merchandising with their Threads Fashion Show. » The year-long Senior Design Course where they solve challenges with industry partners. » College of the Arts and Media are showcasing their Theatre, Dance, and Broadcasting programs. We are grateful for our partnership over the past 10 years with several departments at Central who have provided: » Student-produced live broadcasting of the New Venture Challenge. » Student-led graphic design services for teams competing in NVC. » Prototype support from the Center for Merchandising & Design Technology. With the growth of such partnerships we are well on our way to elevating the entrepreneurial culture at CMU.

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TEAMS ELEVATOR PITCH COMPETITION Boards for Beginners........................................................ 9 CannaKissed Botanicals................................................... 9 Chocoletzle........................................................................... 9 Cold Harvest Hunting Products...................................... 10 Espress & Go........................................................................ 10 Fire Rides Campus Scooters........................................... 10 Jay’s Champs, LLC.............................................................. 11 Kutzbyken............................................................................. 11 La Vie Dans Le Blanc.......................................................... 11 Luna Lux Cuts...................................................................... 12 LMS......................................................................................... 12 Mapscratched LTD............................................................. 13 MentorHub........................................................................... 13 Money Team......................................................................... 13 mXs Productions................................................................ 14 Neptune Automobiles........................................................ 14 ProBoard............................................................................... 14 Raptor Medical Solutions................................................. 15 Safe Eats................................................................................ 15 Safety Belt............................................................................. 15 Solranger.............................................................................. 16 Spider..................................................................................... 16 Swiya...................................................................................... 16

7-MINUTE PRESENTATIONS The Cupcake Cafe LLC....................................................... 18 The Portable Bar................................................................. 18 WoMa Bazaar...................................................................... 18 1 Little Elevator Company, Inc.......................................... 19 Kap & Company | Global DEI Consulting...................... 19 SafeROW............................................................................... 19 BreezeSweep....................................................................... 20 Integrated Molecular Innovations................................. 20 Tall and Small Designs, LLC.............................................. 20 New Venture Challenge 2022

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ELEVATOR PITCH COMPETITION 8

New Venture Challenge 2022


Boards for Beginners Dylan Everett Boards for Beginners is a non-profit business set towards helping students get into the sport of snowboarding. We rent boards and equipment for the season to students who become a member. Through this non-profit we will make snowboarding more cost effective for students.

CannaKissed Botanicals Rebecca (Beckey) Burden CannaKissed Botanicals is a web-based venture that sells DIY healing salves and lip balm kits. The kits contain all of the necessary ingredients, containers, and instructions to make multiple units. These kits are specifically aimed at creating cannabis-based topicals using the customers own legally-sourced cannabis or hemp. The beauty of the venture is that the kits contain no cannabis and the customer is provided all of the tools and instructions they need to make high quality healing and pain topicals using organic and ethicallysourced ingredients from Michigan and Peru with or without their own cannabis.

Chocoletzle Fatimah Khan With research displaying that consumers believe dips enhance meal/snack time and help create an indulgent exciting experience, Chocoletzle is introducing a new line of dessert dips. These dips are intended to sweeten up snacking and provide you with that sugary twist that we are missing from our favorite savory dips, particularly as the pandemic has increased at-home socialization and the need for portable snack options.

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Cold Harvest Hunting Products Robert Rasegan Cold Harvest Hunting Products has created a product called The Meat Blanket. It is shaped like a cocoon and allows meat to stay cold for hunters for long durations of time. After the deer is field dressed, crack-able ice packs are inserted inside the cavities and around the deer and it clips together. There are hooks on the sides to keep the legs together, and three along the top, so it can be carried or drug. It can be washed after with soap and water.

Espress & Go Roy Workman & Kendal Hoppa This coffee shop will allow contactless ordering and pickup services to allow for a more affordable and efficient alternative to the traditional coffee shop. Its launched with an app to allow customers to quickly access coffee that is pre ordered using a subscription.

Fire Rides Campus Scooters Ryan Carter & Jason Caine Central Michigan University is one of the largest universities in the country, making it on the top 100s list. With the large size of our campus, transportation has become a struggle for some students. Now getting to class has never been easier with our new business venture Fire Rides Campus Scooters.

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Jay’s Champs, LLC D’Yon Padgett Jay’s Champs is unique, we will provide curvy women options that will fit their style, shape and size. We say no to one size fits all. We will provide women with athletic wear that will make them feel confident, empowered, and valued. Jay’s Champs Target market is: Upper Teens, College students, Athletes & Online shoppers. Customers will pay for such apparel as flattering designed leggings, comfortable coordinating tops, and comfortable jumpsuits and more.

Kutzbyken Kenmari Howard My venture would be to possibly open a barbershop for students.

La Vie Dans Le Blanc Ashley Pedersen La Vie Dans Le Blanc is a one of a kind bridal dress store. The inventory consists of wedding dresses from foreign designers that are normally hard to order as well as local designers. La Vie Dans Le Blanc stands out for having the most popular dresses of the seasons. We offer excellent experiences for future brides and the party she brings with her.

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Luna Lux Cuts Andrea Luna A salon/barber shop that offers luxury salon services without the price. What makes us different is that we cater to every and all hair types starting from 1a to 4c.

LMS Lamaur Sanders My company is based on service and helping businesses move things around in a quicker, more efficient, and new way. I am a technology service company that will have four different kinds of bots that are built for different ways of servicing buisnesses. One will be able to carry heavy loads in places such as fedex or even household items. Another can be used in restuarants and bring food and a new way of service there. The third will be able to carry luggage in hotels and provide room service. The last will be a reliable cleaning device that will be able to clean just about any service in any area. It will cost about $10,000-$15,000 per bot to make and then I want to ask for $100,000 to start off my buisness.

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Mapscratched LTD Carolina Hernandez Ruiz, James Hernandez Ruiz & Jesus Enrique Esquivel Mapscratched is a community of adventurers. Our objectives are: 1. To become the largest community for travel lovers. 2. To become the public source of travel knowledge and advice. 3. To allow users to track their past and future adventures, save their memories, and interchange travel experiences. 4. To allow users to connect with like-minded and experienced globetrotters. 5. To keep growing and developing services that support the needs of travel-passionate users. MapScratched provides a travel profile with a lifetime logbook and memory vault to store and grow your memories. Explore the world with us.

MentorHub Alex Galler It is an app and a website that allows mentors to find people to mentor and helps people find mentors.

Money Team Angelo Green A shoe box laced with brushes and a rotating platform to put dirty shoes on to clean quickly. You remove the laces from your shoes and place on the platform in the box. You add hot water and a cleaning solution to the brush compartment, then step on the pressure pad to make the platform on the inside rotate as the brushes, water and cleaning solution work to remove any unwanted dirt and debris.

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mXs Productions Evan Johnson mXs productions is a company that specializes in content creation and apparel sales. Our dream is to inspire others with our videos and show the fun and personal growth that can be gained from action sports. We find creative outlets through skateboarding, mountain biking, and motorsports, and want to share our passion with fellow enthusiasts. mXs began with three friends who found community through action sports, and later making short home-videos. We now create content for everyone to enjoy and become a part of the action sports community.

Neptune Automobiles Jared Moore & Daunte Nance A startup automotive technology company dedicated to bringing efficiency and sustainability to the current personal vehicle infrastructure. We use our flywheel battery as a bridge to allow vehicles to utilize small and ultra efficient gasoline engines to minimize carbon footprint while avoiding the pitfalls of battery EVs infrastructure and materials needs.

ProBoard Jakob Christiansen Proboard simplifies the construction material procurement process, enabling project managers to efficiently purchase materials. ProBoard is an all-in-one ecommerce solution for construction procurement, showing listings to buyers as a dashboard of relevant information such as price, lead time, and inventory across distributors. Proboard facilitates transactions by offering its distributors an easy-to-use turnkey ecommerce solution. ProBoard is targeted toward small-medium specialty contracting firms and regional construction material distributors.

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Raptor Medical Solutions Brandon Leon Medical footwear and rehabilitation company dedicated to creating better quality solutions to help patients and individuals heal and recover faster. The main product that is being focused on for the NVC is a new medical walking boot.

Safe Eats Chase Stewart & Brock Johnson For individuals who have dietary restrictions such as food allergies or follow strict diets, eating at a restaurant can be a difficult endeavor. Our venture is providing restaurants a platform to help them better serve their customers with dietary restrictions. Restaurants can upload their menu and provide the ingredients for the eight common allergens, as well as any vegan or vegetarian options on the menu. Users of this app will be able to see if they can eat any food from a restaurant beforehand by going onto the app and blacklisting all of their dietary restrictions, only being left with food options they can eat from local restaurants.

Safety Belt Ja’Kerion Merritt My venture idea is a newly designed safety belt that prevents the drivers from changing gears to drive unless their seatbelt is buckled in. I will accomplish this by using a sensor in the buckle.

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Solranger Olivia Kulesza & Savannah Schantz Solranger is an all in one tailgate vehicle. It is designed to address all the inconveniences of tailgating. Each sale made on our rentable vehicle donates a percentage of profits to an organization to help individuals with disabilities.

Spider Joseph McKinney Spider, the software as a service, connects your employees like never before. Spider has your employees fill out profiles, view every employee / team in a hierarchy format, see which teams are working on what project, and can track progress within different accounts. The project management tool allows document / contract sharing, different permissions based on your role, team construction, and allows for more collaboration.

Swiya Jamir Mullins Scooters and bicycles around campus.

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7-MINUTE PRESENTATIONS MAIN STREET | SOCIAL MISSION | HIGH GROWTH

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MAIN STREET

7-Minute Presentations

The Cupcake Cafe LLC Mariah Sperkoski The Cupcake Cafe sells gourmet style cupcakes for retail. With a passion for Christ and community this business plans to show His love through donation to charities, at 5% each year, such as the National Association of the Deaf among others. www.bit.ly/nvc_cupcake

The Portable Bar Kathryn Longton & Erika Eifler We are a mobile bar service that customers can book for their special events such as weddings and graduation parties. Located in Central Michigan, we provide craft cocktails and excellent service. www.bit.ly/nvc_portablebar

WoMa Bazaar Emily Worline & Erin Markovicz A community marketplace that gives budding entrepreneurs the ability to embark on their small business journey in a low risk environment. Live entertainment will be provided to provide visitors with a well-rounded and enticing experience. On top of unit rentals, we will provide business advising services. www.bit.ly/nvc_woma

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SOCIAL MISSION

7-Minute Presentations

1 Little Elevator Company, Inc Jamila Little 1 Little Elevator Company, Inc is committed to providing safe and professional vertical lift maintenance, repair, modernization, and installation services, while providing value to customers, prosperous career opportunities to women in construction, and contributing to the betterment of our communities. www.1littleelevator.com

Kap & Company | Global DEI Consulting Jake Kapusansky Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are the three words that every company is talking about, and will be continuing to develop as the coming generation leans into the work-force. Kap & Company focuses on internal DEI program(s) consulting initiatives that will boost our clients Environment, Social, and Governance ratings, working to improve the internal culture and external brand of each new prospect. www.adobe.ly/3rqsTJf

SafeROW Bayle Golden SafeROW is a GPS system with security in mind. It uses innovative technology and VOC work to be and stay ahead of the curve. www.bit.ly/nvc_saferow

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HIGH GROWTH

7-Minute Presentations

BreezeSweep Daniel Lahey, Ashfaq Sayeed, Alec Reilly, & Melanie Rogers BreezeSweep is a small wind turbine that you can put on your roof to power your house. It is safe for the environment and will pay for itself in less than 2 years. We have a working prototype, are pursuing a patent, and are talking to manufacturers. www.bit.ly/nvc_breezesweep

Integrated Molecular Innovations Rourke Sylvain & Ali Dabas At Integrated Molecular Innovations we develop cutting-edge point-of-care biosensors that detect and quantify thyroid hormones in real time using only a single drop of blood. www.bit.ly/nvc_imi

Tall and Small Designs, LLC Jordan Craven I want to make it easier for people to see how an article of clothing will fit when bought online. I am in the process of creating a 3D modeling application where users can input just a few measurements, choose a piece of clothing, and it will model exactly how that piece of clothing will fit on their body type. It will take stretch, size, and type of material into consideration when modeling the article of clothing. Harnessing technologies already in existence to create this product, is the next step in the online retail industry, helping users just like you and I navigate a once precarious shopping experience. www.bit.ly/nvc_tallsmall

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PRELIMINARY TEAMS Absolute Incubation — Vincent Bruno & Logan Hoffman The Black Box Bard — Christian Neumann & Alexandria Demski Beyond Plastics — Bella Loughridge BrewStop — Sabian Ardeleanu & Parker Ricks Comfortable Professionals — Jaden Barnard Dance 4 You — Olivia Verdusco Drop-In Skate Co. — Russell Timmerman Embrace Beauty Supply — Victoria Sykes Language! — Bre’Naya Lane Level — Eve Hartmann New Again — Mason Turner Muscle Mail — Wyatt Veltman Pristine Clean — Pearl Blaylock Refresh Mobile Teeth Whitening — Elijah Mayes Same as it never was — Elaynna Alverez & Alina Krasinski Sustainable Stays — Sophie Krueger WOODchewz — Aleysia Kolyvanova Wrighthouse Realty — Zach Sommers New Venture Challenge 2022

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AWARDS HIGH GROWTH

MAIN STREET

SOCIAL MISSION

The Korson Family Highest Growth Potential Venture: $10,000

1st Place Main Street: $10,000

1st Place Social Mission: $10,000

2nd Place Main Street: $5,000

2nd Place Social Mission: $5,000

3rd Place Main Street: $2,000

3rd Place Social Mission: $2,000

2nd Place High Growth: $5,000 3rd Place High Growth: $2,000

Lyndell Patrick, Class of 1975

INVESTOR CONTRIBUTION AWARDS

1st Place Elevator Pitch: $4,000

Middle Michigan Development Corporation Investor Award: $2,000 and In-Kind Services

ELEVATOR PITCH AWARDS 2nd Place Elevator Pitch: $2,000 3rd Place Elevator Pitch: $1,000 (2) Honorable Mention Elevator Pitch: $250 each

ISABELLA BANK GALLERY AWARDS

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

1st Place Gallery: $2,000

Top Choice by Audience: $1,000

2nd Place Gallery: $1,500

Runner Up by Audience: $500

3rd Place Gallery: $1,000 (2) Honorable Mention: $250 each

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GALLERY & SHOWCASE The New Venture Gallery & Partner Showcase consists of 36 displays, along the T-shaped hallways of the Health Professions Building. Please enjoy your strolling dinner and beverages while you meet students, entrepreneurs, and innovators.

PARTNER SHOWCASE This year we have partnered with departments across campus to showcase creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship from a variety of disciplines at CMU. Highlighted in the showcase are students developing the highest quality innovations and creativity from the Department of Fashion Merchandising, School of Engineering & Technology, Department of Art & Design, School of Broadcasting and Cinematic Arts, and Department of Theater and Dance.

STUDENT GALLERY The Gallery is an opportunity for student ventures to exhibit their business concepts, and creations. From 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. a group of judges will evaluate the student gallery displays to determine the prizes for the Isabella Bank Student Gallery Awards. In addition, there will also be audience choice awards where you can vote for your favorite exhibit.

How to Vote 1. Scan the QR Code or visit: www.pollev.com/ibiecmu895 2. Enter your name or tap on the skip button to continue as a guest. 3. Select your favorite venture from the list. You may only vote once. Do you need help voting? Visit the registration table for assistance.

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GALLERY & SHOWCASE Student Gallery 1

BreezeSweep

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2

LMS

20 1 Little Elevator Company, Inc.

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Espress & Go

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Kap & Company | Global DEI Consulting

24 WoMa Bazaar

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ProBoard

25 Cold Harvest Hunting Products

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Chocoletzle

26 The Cupcake Cafe LLC

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La Vie Dans Le Blanc

28 Luna Lux Cuts

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Solranger

29 Raptor Medical Solutions 31

13 The Portable Bar

32 Embrace Beauty Supply

15 Safe Eats

34 SafeROW

16 Integrated Molecular Innovations

35 CannaKissed Botanicals

Event Entrance

Tall and Small Designs, LLC

Dinner Station

1

Restrooms

New Venture Challenge 2022

mXs Productions

12 Mapscratched LTD

Check-In

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Spider

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36 35 34

Partner Showcase

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Broadcasting: Solar Sounders/Instruments

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Engineering

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10 Fashion: Crystal Jellyfish & He Loves Me… He Loves Me Not

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14 Theater & Dance: The Revolutionists

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Photobooth

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Fashion: Nature Essence & Still and Serene

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18 College of the Arts & Media

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22 Engineering 23 Broadcasting: WHMW 91.5/101 The Beat — Student Radio 27 Broadcasting: The 48-Hour Film Challenge — Film Society 30 Fashion: Be Still My Beating Heart & Calm Before the Storm 33 Engineering Bar

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Dinner Station

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36 Theater & Dance: The Revolutionists

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Dinner Station

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Coffee & Desserts

Map Legend Event Space Restrooms

Competition & Awards (HP 1020)

Dinner Stations Student Gallery Partner Showcase

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JUDGES Kevin Blaser Business Growth, Development & Energy Specialist, Migizi Economic Development Company Thomas Coke Entrepreneur in Residence, Grand Valley State University; Head of Collectives, Playbooked Nicholas Cozzi EMS Fellow, Northwell Health and New York City Fire Department Casey Croad Co-Founder and Co-Owner, Ignite Donuts Lee Curtis CEO and Founding Partner, RESIDE Worldwide, Inc. Enrico Digirolamo CFO, General Motors (Retired) Rebecca Dingus Faculty, College of Business Administration, Central Michigan University Jae Evans Chief Executive Officer, Isabella Bank Corporation Andy Fennell Finance Director, Dow Chemical Co. Tony Fox Regional Director, Mid Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Denise Graves University Relations Director, Michigan Economic Development Corporation

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Stephen Hahn SBIR/STTR Program Expert, National Science Foundation (NSF) Dom Holmes Emerging Growth and Innovation Administrator, Oakland County, Michigan Government Zach Huffman Founder and CEO, Hyvion Michael Jakalot CEO, The Beaconview Group, INC Melanie Kalmar Corporate Vice President, CIO, and CDO, Dow John Kulhavi Senior Consultant, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management (Retired) David Ladner Founder and CEO, Transportation Cost Recovery Tim Magnusson Founding Partner and Chief Investment Officer, Garda Capital Partners James McBryde President and CEO, Middle Michigan Development Corporation Mustafa Mohamad Sr. Business Development Manager, The Dow Chemical Company Kati Mora Vice President, Middle Michigan Development Corporation Philip Mundt Founder and CEO, Form Further Kristie Nystedt Founder, President and CEO, ABS Commercial, Atlantic Brew Supply, Raleigh Brewing, and Atlantic Process Solutions Marv Pichla Creative Advisor and Owner, Inspiring Innovations, Inc. Robb Porter Executive Vice President, Loadsmart Jeff Punches Emerging Business Consultant, Mid Michigan Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Penny Queller Chief Customer Officer, Impellam Group David Queller President, Express Scripts Alex Redei Faculty, Department of Computer Science, Central Michigan University John Ruther Managing Director, O’Keefe Michael Schuette Co-Founder and CEO, GCI Water Solutions Jerome Schwind President, Isabella Bank Corporation Reed Shick Director of Research Development, Advanced Battery Concepts Erin Strang President and CEO, CMURC Leslie Vickrey CEO and Founder, ClearEdge Marketing Jon Voigtman Executive Chairman, Sports and Health Tech Acquisition Corporation Stephen Wakeling Founder and CEO, Phobio David Zick Owner, Rehab and Mobility Systems LLC. (Retired) x

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THANK YOU We appreciate the generosity of our partners, sponsors, and donors who have shared their talents, time, and financial support to help evolve the New Venture Challenge. Thank you for helping to transform this event from two years of virtual competitions to an enhanced cross-campus celebration of entrepreneurship and innovation.

MENTORS & ADVISORS Joe Affholter Faculty, Entrepreneurship Department, Central Michigan University Stephen Hahn SBIR/STTR Program Expert, National Science Foundation (NSF) David Knapp Entrepreneur, Automotive Aftermarket Industry (Retired) Kati Mora Vice President, Middle Michigan Development Corporation David Nows Chairperson, Entrepreneurship Department, Central Michigan University Caryn Shick Founder and CEO, Incuba8; Faculty, Entrepreneurship Department, Central Michigan University Mike Schuette Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, GCI Water Solutions Stephen Wakeling Founder and CEO, Phobio Dan Ward Co-Founder and President, Detroit Labs Ed Woelfert Faculty, School of Accounting, Central Michigan University Penny Woelfert Faculty, Entrepreneurship Department, Central Michigan University

SPONSORS

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Honoring the Legacy of

JEFF THOMAS “I had an aching sense that our time is short, shorter than we ever know, short as a morning run, and I wanted mine to be meaningful. And purposeful. And Creative. And Important. Above all…different. I want to leave a mark on the world” — a quote form one of Jeff’s favorite books, Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

Jeff was an extraordinary teacher who profoundly influenced others by simply teaching the idea that we must all seize life and believe in ourselves. Help us honor Jeff’s legacy by considering one of these opportunities: » Give to the Jeff Thomas Entrepreneurship Scholarship to help students who major or minor in Entrepreneurship and compete in the New Venture Challenge » Provide direct support to student entrepreneurs through NVC prizes, venture grants, and other awards » Become a mentor, guest speaker, or attend one of our networking events.

Consider supporting on behalf of Jeff Thomas, former department chairperson of Entrepreneurship at CMU.

GET INVOLVED: Contact Julie Messing at julie.messing@cmich.edu

DONATE: Give online at www.giving.cmich.edu

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SPONSORS

@CMU.NVC

@CMUNVC

@CMU_NVC

989-774-3270 | nvc@cmich.edu | cmich.edu/nvc

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