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Female Founders Sweep Startup Yale

Friday, April 21 was a day of showcase and celebration as Startup Yale unfolded at Yale School of Management. Bringing together top teams from across the university with new venture ideas addressing public health and education needs, environmental issues and technology solutions, the event is a testament to the innovative thinking happening across Yale’s student body and to the collaborative efforts of many centers on campus including the Yale Center for Business and the Environment, InnovateHealth Yale, the Yale Entrepreneurial Institute and School of Management.

The event also marked the culmination of a growing trend of women engaging in entrepreneurship at Yale—all four winning teams behind the $25,000 entrepreneurship prizes announced at the event are led by a female cofounder.

The Winners ($25,000):

Aetna Foundation Prize for Health Equity Innovation: 
MyHealth Ed. Launched by SOM student Vichi Jagannathan (SOM ’17) along with Elizabeth Chen and Christina Leos, MyHealth Ed has developed a mobile app called Real Talk that uses stories from teens to engage middle schoolers on sexual health topics.
 
Miller Prize:
Arix Technologies. SOM student Dianna Liu (’18) came to Yale’s MBA program with a background in engineering from ExxonMobil and a vision for a new company that would address corrosion in manufacturing plants. She launched Arix with the help of Bryan Duerfeldt (YC ’17), Petter Wehlin (YC ’17) and David Weber (SOM ’18) to better identify corrosion with integrated robotics and data analytics.
 
Sabin Sustainable Venture Prize:
Powerhouse. Katrina Barlow (SOM ’17) has designed an app that lets consumers control their carbon footprint and utility bill – alerting customers when they can benefit from powering down and providing a low-cost battery that responded dynamically to the grid.
 
Thorne Prize for Social Innovation in Health or Education:
BridgeYear. BridgeYear, cofounded by Victoria Chen (SOM ’17) and Victoria Doan delivers career exploration and support services that expose high school seniors to local, high-growth careers and empowers students to develop a purpose for community college enrollment.

 

Audience Choice Awards ($250):

Aetna Prize: MyHealth Ed

Sabin Prize: Kitchen Table, Inc.

Thorne Prize: RxAll, Inc.

Miller Prize: Arix Technologies

 

Impact Investing Award ($1,000)

Charityvest (Stephen Kump SOM ’17)
 
Originally published on Yale Entrepreneurial Institute