Enhance-d and SheSync awarded at the Startup Funding Competition

Two projects tackling different issues in the healthcare domain won the pitch competition organised by the student association Student Business Club with the support of USI Startup Centre and Privilége Student Ventures on May 2nd at the East Campus.

The event brought together over 70 innovation enthusiasts and offered the stage to six selected early-stage projects, most of which developed by USI students, to showcase their innovative solutions to the attendees and the jury composed of representatives of different organisations within the local innovation ecosystem and Luisa Lambertini, rector of USI.

The participating teams had three minutes to pitch their solution and some additional time to answer questions from the jury members. In addition, each project had a booth in the networking area to interact with the event participants and gather feedback. The exhibition area offered all the attendees an opportunity to explore new solutions and forge meaningful connections, fostering potential collaborations among the student community. After the pitches, both the jury and the audience had to choose how to allocate their “virtual investment capital” among the projects. 

Based on the total amount of investments “raised” through the voting, two projects were awarded, one selected by the jury and one by the public. The jury award went to Enhance-d, a startup that offers a tool to help people with diabetes exercise safely and effectively, presented by Sam Scott. The audience award was won by SheSync, a startup developing a smart menstrual cup with an incorporated release system, presented by Akankshya Ingale, a bachelor’s student in informatics. Looking back at the event, Akankshya shared:

"Participating in the Startup Funding Competition was a game-changer for me. It helped me validate my idea, provided exposure, and facilitated networking with key players in the startup ecosystem. It was not only a pivotal experience that accelerated my startup journey but also provided invaluable insights into the public perception of my idea."