2005 Olin Cup Winners Announced 2.11.06
from St. Louis Commerce Magazine
Two teams of entrepreneurs have won the 2005 Olin Cup Competition at Washington University and walked away with a total of $70,000 in seed money. Somark Innovations took home a $50,000 investment prize, and iMobile Access Technologies received a $20,000 investment. Two student-owned businesses, Suzanne Shenkman Designs and HomeWUrk, will split a $5,000 award.
Somark Innovations, led by Ramos Mays and Mark Pydynowski, created a tracking system that works like radio frequency identification without using a physical microchip or antenna. The system uses a biocompatible material that already has FDA approval. The company intends to market the product initially to livestock owners, capitalizing on government regulations that will require all cattle to be tracked to prevent mad cow disease.
IMobile Access Technologies, founded by Stephen Foster, will focus on improving communication for people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Foster, who was born deaf, has developed a wearable device that transcribes spoken words into text that the user can read. The company is working with several technological design partners on an advanced prototype that could be available early this year.
The Olin Cup is a business formation
competition presented jointly by the Olin School of Business and the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University and is sponsored by St. Louis Commerce Magazine and the RCGA.
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