History and Past Results

History of the Duke Start-Up Challenge

During the 1999-2000 academic year, a group of ambitious Duke University students organized and launched the University’s first entrepreneurship competition, the Duke Start-Up Challenge, an entrepreneurial endeavor in and of itself. Their motivation was based on the observation that while Duke has excellent programs in business, medicine, law, engineering and arts and sciences, there was no formal outlet for entrepreneurial collaboration among students and faculty in the various schools. Additionally, Duke’s geographical location in the Research Triangle Park, an area know for technological innovation and business excellence, provides the university with an abundant source of inspiration and resources for entrepreneurial activities. Garry Snook was the founding donor.

Before structuring the details of the competition, the founding committee first established its purpose in regards to Duke and its students. These goals became guiding principles as decisions were made about the competition and are followed to this day. Fundamentally, the Duke Startup Challenge should position Duke University as the pre-eminent center of entrepreneurial innovation in the Southeast by:

Partnering with the unique resources available within the Duke community and the Southeastern region,
Educating Duke University students in the process of developing and evaluating entrepreneurial ventures and
Fostering new business formation and economic development in the Durham and RTP communities.

1999-2000

Co-Presidents: Chris Ryan (Fuqua '00), Karl Isaac (Fuqua '00), Gary Larson (Fuqua '00)
Article about the creation of the Duke Start-Up Challenge (November 1999)
1st Place: OmnipreSense (the founders went on to create Advanced Liquid Logic)
2nd Place: Plastech
3rd Place: Carolinas Monthly Group
People's Choice: Plastech

2000-2001

Co-Presidents: Zach Ager (Trinity '02), Robin Hackney (Fuqua '01)
Grand Prize: InGensity
Honorable Mention: NovOculi & Lab Share
People's Choice: NovOculi

2001-2002

Co-Presidents: Rob Farrington (Fuqua '02), Zach Ager (Trinity '02)
1st Place: Sundance Genetics
Runners-Up: TheraNova & Visual Data Systems
Finalists: Alchemy and Peregrine PowerKraft
People's Choice: TheraNova

2002-2003

Co-Presidents: Erick Hawkins (Fuqua '03), Avery Tucker (Fuqua '03) and Bradley Zimmer (Trinity '00, Law '03)
Social Enterprise track added

2003-2004

President: Rik Vandevenne (Fuqua '04)
1st Place: Optopo (now known as Centice)
2nd Place: SonoTrak
3rd Place: J3 MedTech
Finalists: SameNET and SafeGene

2004-2005

President: Matt Lunn (Pratt '99, Fuqua '05)
Grand Prize: Nanocell Technology
2nd Place: HMdisplay
3rd Place: SecureSilicon
Finalists: Humacyte, LAT-Co, Safmed

2005-2006

Co-Chairs: Abram Becker (Fuqua ‘06), Mike Pisetsky (Fuqua/Law ‘08)
1st Place: Cytex Therapeutics
2nd Place: Precision BioSciences
3rd Place: Novelios
Consumer Products/Services Track Winner: BookBuzz
Healthcare Track Winner: Cytex Therapeutics
Technology Track Winner: ADME
Social Enterprise Track Winner: Pro Joe
Finalist: Cardiovascular Resonances, Applied Polymer

2006-2007

Co-Chairs: Colleen Chelini (Fuqua ‘07), Sarah Fox Roberts (PhD candidate, BME), Mike Pisetsky (Fuqua/Law ‘08)
Elevator Pitch Competition Winner: Green Cooling Group
Grand Prize Winner: Oncoscope

2007-2008

Co-presidents: Steve Allan (Fuqua '08), Hylton Kalvaria (Fuqua '08), Kris Irwin (Fuqua '08)
Elevator Pitch Competition Winner: WaterPlus
Grand Prize Winner: Cerene Biomedics

Overall Runner-Up and Social Enterprise Track Winner: WaterPlus
People's Choice Winner: GameEverything
Hi-Technology Track Winner: A-B-Sea Research
Consumer Products Track Winner: Visible Energy (now PlotWatt)

2008-2009

Co-presidents: Sean Knowles (Fuqua '09), Jessica Mailey (Fuqua '09), Anand Sundaram (Pratt '09)
Elevator Pitch Competition Winner: Trace Aid
Grand Prize Winner: EntoGenetics
Finalist: Catchafire