Student entrepreneurs pitch innovative ideas

ASU student founders network, pitch their startup business ideas to alumni at the ASU California Center


March 29, 2023

For 15 Arizona State University student startup founders from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering and other colleges at ASU, their venture development experience brought them to a retreat sponsored by the Prescott Student Venture Fund to explore the startup community in Los Angeles. They also got to pitch their business ventures to a panel of ASU alumni who, like them, founded their own startups.

Brent Sebold, director of the Entrepreneurship + Innovation program at the Fulton Schools, led the Tech Devils annual innovation retreat to connect ASU-affiliated founders with new opportunities. Arizona State University student founders (from left to right) Vivek Prasad, Antoine Mistico, Max Bregman and Manpuneet Benipal were selected to present at the Hool Coury Law Tech Venture Challenge during the Tech Devils Annual Innovation Retreat hosted at the ASU California Center in Southern California. Photo courtesy Brent Sebold Download Full Image

“We have students who made an incredible impression with their work ethic,” Sebold says. “We want to help those students take advantage of these types of experiences and leverage them to have their ventures be as impactful as possible.”

Learning from experienced entrepreneurs

Student attendees were selected from the ASU Venture Devils program competition cycle or nominated by faculty and staff at ASU. Each student has demonstrated an impressive commitment to their venture and an eagerness to develop their skill set.

The 2023 retreat is the first to be hosted at the ASU California Center in Los Angeles, opening doors to a whole new network of contacts for the student innovators. This also marks the first year that alumni participated as reviewers in the Pitch Showcase, which features students pitching their venture ideas.

The Fulton Schools' Entreprenurship + Innovation program strives to give its student founders access to every resource ASU offers, including the university’s vast network of alumni. Aryyama Kumar Jana, a Fulton Schools alumnus and software development engineer at Amazon, enjoyed meeting with the student founders and providing feedback on their ventures.

“It was amazing to see young entrepreneurs from ASU pitching technology-backed business models for their startups,” Jana says. “I am very impressed by the way my alma mater is providing support to these early-stage startups.”

The annual retreat began in 2015 thanks to the support of Fulton Schools alumnus Tom Prescott and the Prescott Student Venture Fund. Since graduating, Prescott has become CEO and chairman of Align Technology, the world’s third-largest 3D printing company and producer of orthodontic product Invisalign.

He has enthusiastically supported his alma mater over the past decade and has been instrumental in developing several programs within Entreprenurship + Innovation. Prescott aims to encourage students to think beyond their academic experiences and toward the future opportunities and challenges in store for competitive startups.

Ishaan Mirchandani, a computer science student and co-founder of Tenance, a mobile app that automates rent payments and provides payment flexibility for renters, appreciates the chance to explore beyond the Phoenix tech industry.

“As an aspiring entrepreneur, the opportunity to pitch to such an influential audience and to learn from successful entrepreneurs was invaluable,” Mirchandani says.

Bringing together the ASU community’s innovators

Skysong Innovations, ASU’s intellectual property management company, and ASU RealmSpark, an initiative that connects investors to entrepreneurs within the ASU community, designed the retreat’s 2023 itinerary, drawing from their extensive network within the Los Angeles community.

The students were invited to attend a mixer at Preccelerator, an organization that develops startups, where they connected with experts to learn more about resources and best practices for operating in the enterepreneurial space.

Founders and alumni also gathered for the retreat’s Pitch Showcase, in which students performed five-minute pitches for their ventures and ASU alumni served as audience members and reviewers. The alumni then selected three teams to present at the Hool Coury Law Tech Venture Challenge on April 28.

The following teams were chosen to present at the upcoming showcase:

  • Zen Shuttles, founded by technological entrepreneurship and management major Antoine Mistico and computer science major Vivek Prasad, is a subscription service that provides safe transportation for students on college campuses.
  • Breathe EV, founded by business student Max Bregman, is a mobile app for electric vehicle owners to find and reserve electric vehicle charging stations.
  • Advent Diamond, founded by Manpuneet Benipal, a nanoscience and materials science and engineering alumna, produces diamond-based semiconductors to improve precision in telecommunication, power and advanced sensors.

Sebold says that the program’s best quality is the lasting connections formed across industries, backgrounds and communities.

The co-founders of Zen Shuttles, who won first place at the Pitch Showcase, met and became business partners at a previous Fulton School entreprenurship event called Techiepalooza two years ago.

Sebold aims to continue bridging the gap between student startup founders and resources to help them bring ideas to fruition.

“Not only do our students dream up amazing technological solutions to real-world problems, but they also reframe how we look at those problems,” Sebold says.

Ishaan Mirchandani, a computer science student and co-founder of Tenance, a mobile app that automates rent payments and provides payment flexibility for renters, appreciates the chance to explore beyond the Phoenix tech industry.

Talah Cummins, co-founder of a rideshare platform that facilitates city-to-city travel for college students called PoolUp, developed connections that she says will stay with her for the rest of her entrepreneurial journey. 

“I got to bond with people who are going through the smiliar experiences as me with their ventures,” Cummins says. “I met some of the most inspiring entrepreneurs, investors and forward-thinking people.” 

Ventures that participated in the Annual Innovation Retreat included:

Advent Diamond, founded by Manpuneet Benipal, a nanoscience and materials science and engineering alumna, is a semiconductor production company.

Breathe EV, founded by business student Max Bregman, is a mobile app for electric vehicle owners to find and reserve charging stations.

DocYou, founded by biomedical engineering major Anvitha Doddipalli and computer science major David Ellis, is a software tool for medical residents to efficiently document information.

FoodTrax, led by innovation and venture development graduate student Zafeerah Sheikh, is a mobile app that gives users access to the schedules, menus and reviews of local food trucks.

Lift With Cat, led by co-founders Catherine Nunez, a biomedical engineering student, and David Syms, a computer science alumnus, is a fitness and lifestyle program based on biomechanics and physiology.

Philanthrofi, founded by student Ricky Marton, is an AI consulting software.

PoolUp, founded by Michael Chong and Talah Cummins, is a rideshare platform that facilitates city-to-city travel for college students.

Quantax, founded by management of technology graduate student Surabhi Vinodkeerthi, supplies wearable gloves to enhance virtual reality experiences.

Rayn, founded by Nicole Ray, a materials science and engineering alumna and current adjunct faculty member in the ASU School of Molecular Sciences, is a medical device supply company.

Tenance, led by computer science students and co-founders Ishaan Mirchandani and Jason Coawette, is a property management software tool for rent collection and bookkeeping.

Thrively Foods, led by innovation and venture development graduate student Isaac Hinson, provides a variety of cold foam flavors with sustainable practices.

Zen Shuttles, founded by technological entrepreneurship and management major Antoine Mistico and computer science major Vivek Prasad, is a safe transport subscription for students on college campuses.

Hannah Weisman

Science writer, Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, Marketing and Communications

602-496-8753

ASU associate professor wins Fulbright Award to study sexual-assault prevention


March 29, 2023

Throughout her career, Arizona State University Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation Associate Professor Kelly Davis has worked to translate her research into action. An expert in alcohol-involved sexual assault, Davis’ studies have been cited in U.S. legislation and have earned her a MERIT Award and now the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award.

The program will take her to the United Kingdom beginning in early 2024 to collaborate with colleagues at the University of Birmingham. Their work will focus on ways to reduce sexual assaults involving alcohol through education and perpetrator prevention efforts. A headshot of Associate Professor Kelly Cue Davis smiling at the camera with her mouth closed and wearing a dark blouse with a silver pendant necklace. Edson College Associate Professor Kelly Cue Davis was selected for the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Award. Download Full Image

“We know this is a global issue. On average, about half of all sexual assaults involve alcohol either on the part of the victim or perpetrator but most commonly both,” Davis said.

But there are varying perceptions of responsibility when an assault happens and someone has been drinking. Davis plans to compile existing research evidence and create innovative ways to distribute it.

“We plan to develop a framework to integrate that information and then use that framework to develop best-practice guides for professionals who work with both victims and perpetrators in a professional capacity — so nurses, law enforcement, student code of conduct administrators, etc.,” Davis said.

Through a translational science approach, Davis and colleagues will work to inform these groups about all the variables at play during alcohol-involved sexual assault while challenging outdated myths, misperceptions and double standards, some of which have made it into law.

“There’s problematic legislation in some states where if a victim was drinking, it only legally impairs their ability to consent if it was involuntary consumption,” Davis said.

Their second objective relates to expanding prevention efforts to perpetrators. Right now, Davis said most of the evidence-based interventions focus on potential victims and helping them reduce their risk of being assaulted.

“It’s imperative that we have interventions that focus on perpetrators,” she said.

For this aim, the team will expand Davis’ promising cognitive behavioral therapy intervention to include alcohol-related content.

Throughout the project, Davis will have the opportunity to exchange data and best practices, which will be beneficial for the researchers and stakeholders. 

“I think we can learn from each other about what’s working and what’s not working, changes they’ve seen in their culture over time and what we’ve seen,” Davis said.

Fulbright Scholar Program alumni include Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, MacArthur gfellows and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients.

“It’s some nice company to be in,” Davis said.

Amanda Goodman

Senior communications specialist, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation

602-496-0983