LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Michigan’s AIM Tech team won first place Feb. 18 in the 10th annual Brown-Forman Cardinal Challenge, the University of Louisville’s annual business plan competition for MBA teams.
Kitchen Table Inc. of Yale University took second place, while UofL’s team, MetaCT, came in third. Fourth place was won by RED BioBattery of the University of Arkansas.
AIM Tech, which has developed a low-tech, non-electric ventilator for babies in remote areas, was awarded the grand prize of $15,000 and the chance for $100,000 worth of services if they locate their business in Louisville through the “Launch in Louisville” program.
Kitchen Table, maker of plant-based frozen meal kits that cook on the stove in less than 15 minutes, took home $5,000.
MetaCT, created by UofL entrepreneurial MBA students Max Kommer and Nick McRae and coached by UofL’s Van Clouse and Suzanne Bergmeister, is a construction tech firm focusing on a fleet management and dispatch system for asphalt contractors. They won $3,000.
RED BioBattery took home $1,500 to continue development of batteries that last a lifetime for medical devices such as pacemakers, replacing batteries that last five to seven years.
The competition featured 12 teams, including three from Canada. It is one of eight regional or national competitions that UofL teams participate in each year.
The keynote speaker was Maggie Galloway, CEO of Inscope Medical, the highly successful UofL team that won the Cardinal Challenge two years ago with a disposable, low-cost intubation device that can be used in ambulances, helicopters, hospitals and surgery centers.
Clouse is director of the Forcht Center for Entrepreneurship in the College of Business and associate professor of entrepreneurship. Suzanne Bergmeister is assistant director of the Forcht Center and longtime entrepreneur in residence in the college. For more information, contact Clouse at van.clouse@louisville.edu or 502-852-4782.
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