The H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge Championships

6100 Main Street,Houston TX 77005

20 April, 2022

Description

Watch Rice University student startup pitches, network with like-minded entrepreneurs and innovators, and vote for your favorite venture! Join Liu Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and support Rice University student startups at the H. Albert Napier Rice Launch Challenge (NRLC) Championships on Wednesday, April 20th! Six student finalists will pitch their ventures for the chance to win a share of $75,000+ in equity-free funding! Don’t miss out on watching student pitches, networking with like-minded entrepreneurs and innovators in Houston, and voting for your favorite venture to win the Audience Choice Award. Attendance is open to Rice students, Rice alumni, friends of Rice, and the whole Houston entrepreneurial community! Seats are limited, so get your tickets while you still can! Competition starts at 5:30PM with a reception to follow at 7PM. BROUGHT TO YOU BY Liu Idea Lab for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (Lilie) Rice Alumni | Entrepreneurs & Innovators (RAEI) THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS Dacia and Lanham Napier, in honor of Al Napier The Liu Family, in honor of Frank Liu Jr. MBA alumna Runsi Sen ’04 Chevron Technology Ventures DIRECTIONS & PARKING The best access point for campus is Entrance #8 at the intersection of University Boulevard and Stockton Drive. Turn in at this entrance and the building is the second on your left with the small green lawn and sphere figures in front. Take your very next left and you may park in the spots located directly behind the building or pull into the circle drive on your left next to the building. Interactive Rice University Campus Map MEET THE FINALISTS AutoEdge Alfredo Costilla '22 (Innovation Fellow from Professor Xia 'Ben' Hu's DATA Lab), Daochen 'Frank' Zha '23, and Kwei-Herng 'Henry' Lai '23 are the founders of AutoEdge, an AI-powered quality assurance platform that helps small and medium manufacturers to quickly detect defects and provide clear actionable items to fix inefficiencies. Berman Foods Delaney Berman '22 is the founder of Berman Foods, which crafts irresistible artisanal plant-based cheeses and spreads from wholesome, nutritious ingredients. EpiFresh Neethu Pottackal '24 (Innovation Fellow from Professor Pulickel Ajayan’s Lab) and Aasha Zinke '24 are the founders of EpiFresh, whose healthy and sustainable protein-based coating doubles the shelf-life of fruit and vegetables, reducing waste by delaying decay as it moves from the farm to your fridge. GradGenius David Akpakwu '23 and Chinedum Peter Ezeakacha '23 are the founders of GradGenius, designed to give the end-user a one-stop-shop experience to selecting schools based on personal interests. Guildata Stephanie Pons '22, Kurt Reece '22, Ryan Jensen '22 are the founders of Guildata, which provides global health organizations with data that shows the greatest return on investment, by reduction in morbidity and mortality, for public health interventions in a non-disease centric approach. Helix Earth Technologies Rawand Rasheed '23 (Innovation Fellow from Professor Daniel Preston’s Lab) is the founder of Helix Earth Technologies, helping save our planet by helping power plant operators reduce their plant water use and subsequently reducing their overall operating costs.