2011-2012 Entrepreneurs Challenge

Competition Winners
NYU Technology Venture Competition Winners

The NYU Technology Venture Prize of $75,000, which is sponsored by the NYU Innovation Venture Fund, Lowenstein Sandler PC and EisnerAmper LLP, was split between two winning ventures – RF Test Labs and See More Technology.

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Paul Horn, senior vice provost for research (left), and SeeMore Technology

SeeMore Technology combines neuroscience with eye-tracking technology to optimize digital text and respond to a reader's eye position. Founder Sarah Rosen (PhD ’12) of NYU’s Graduate School of Arts, Joshua Fink and Ricky Berrin (MBA ’13) of NYU Stern aim to make reading easier for everyone. By making text easier for your brain to process, reading speed naturally increases while comprehension is unaffected

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RF Test Labs

RF Test Labs develops technology for measuring radio frequency power deposition, or heat, generated by wireless devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablets). RF Test Labs, started by Leeor Alon (PhD ’13), Gene Young Cho (PhD ’13) and Cem Murat Deniz (PhD ’12) from NYU’s School of Medicine, along with Iliyana Atanasova (PhD ’12), is introducing a premium specific absorption rate (SAR) testing service, which improves upon existing methods that are slow, costly and poor measurements of risk to consumers.

Social Venture Competition Winner

The Social Venture Prize of $50,000 was awarded to Nutraceutical Market Solutions.

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Jill Kickul, director of Stern’s Program in Social Entrepreneurship (center), and Nutraceutical Market Solutions

Started by Stern MBA students Matthew Edmundson (MBA ’12) and Jennifer Tsai (MBA ’12), Nutraceutical Market Solutions aims to disrupt global health challenges starting with widespread iron deficiency anemia in India, which often leads to severe health problems for pregnant women and their babies. To help combat this growing issue, Edmundson and Tsai have developed an iron-fortified food that is more appealing to women than traditional iron pills.

New Venture Competition Winners

The Ira Leon Rennert Prize of $75,000, which is made possible by a gift from NYU Stern alumnus and member of Stern's Board of Overseers Ira Leon Rennert (MBA '56), was split between two winning ventures – Noor Pharmaceuticals and SleepBot.

Noor Pharmaceuticals specializes in developing and commercializing Halal vitamins and supplements. The venture team, led by Stern MBA student Dr. Mohamed Issa (MBA ’13), aims to increase awareness among Muslims that most vitamins are not Halal, and provide NoorVitamins as the solution.



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Noor Pharmaceuticals (left), SleepBot (right) and William R. Berkley (BS ’66), chairman of Stern’s Board of Overseers (center)

Stern undergraduate student Jane Zhu (BS ’12) and Edison Wang of SleepBot have created an online/mobile resource that helps people manage sleep by providing simple tools that track, compare and visualize sleep with a community of sleep doctors and patients.