42 Student Startups That Won Big This Year

(The Harvard College Innovation Challenge; Image via @xfund)  A flood of innovative ideas emerged from Boston's college campuses in 2014. Several new concepts sprung from all-nighters and hackathons, others from conversations held inside the classroom. Of those ideas, however, dozens were refined with the help of the schools' various business plan competitions. Those same competitions have been platforms for startups to take off, with many now incubating in MassChallenge, Techstars or various co-working spaces scattered throughout the city. The Boston-area's colleges and universities have done their part to foster and promote new companies capable of leading the next generation here in the Hub. But who are they? Check out the 42 newly-funded ideas that spun out of this year's various business plan competitions. Harvard College Innovation Challenge (I3) Focused on three words — imagine, invent and impact — Harvard's I3 awards up to $50,000 to student startups, as well as free office space in Harvard Square. Applications to the 2014 challenge increased by 20 percent, meaning this year's winners had to overcome historic odds and out-imagine the competition. Those six winners were: HuePick | HuePick is a toothpick-like device for instant allergen detection in food. Ownly | Ownly is a college-specific, peer-to-peer beauty network, connecting students who are looking to get their nails, eyebrows, hair and makeup done with classmates at the same school who are good at those very skills Quorum | Quorum is an online platform that tells anybody, from a concerned citizen to a professional lobbyist, the truly influential factors that lead to political success. The startup uses machine learning and network analysis "to answer questions that Washington can only guess at." RapidSOS | The startup's first product provides a one-button 911 call, that transforms a two- to five-minute conversation into a three-second notification. The team's second product is a geo-localized emergency alert service, which equips universities, corporations and municipalities with the ability to directly reach people in harm's way based on their location. SimPrints | SimPrints is a low-cost, biometric, fingerprint scanner that can sync wirelessly with mobile phones. The team's goal is to allow health workers to access patient medical records anytime, anywhere. Spray Cake | Spray Cake is bringing baking into the 21st century. With the startup's patent-pending technology, baking fresh cake becomes as easy as a can, a pan and an oven or microwave, allowing consumers to enjoy their delicious homemade dessert in a matter of minutes. BairSkin | BairSkin is a breathable, air-embedded wetsuit with compressed oxygen and carbon dioxide to provide surfer protection. Boston College Venture Competition (What the Nxtfour team looked like in April.)  Three startups split more than $30,000 in this year's Boston College Venture Competition. What's more, following BCVC, the winners were welcomed into the inaugural class of the Soaring Startup Circle, a rotating summer accelerator started by Boston College alumni to support Boston College-born startups. The 2014 BCVC winners were: Nxtfour | Nxtfour is an online platform for high school students interested in creating a 3D resume consisting of grades, activities and anything from an art portfolio to highlight tapes. By creating a Nxtfour profile, students are able to showcase their talents and achievements to colleges and future employers. Students can even connect with their friends and other students applying to their same colleges. Molly Miller | Molly Miller, which raised more than $4,000 on Indiegogo, creates casual clothing and accessories for women inspired by the coastal lifestyle. For every item sold, a portion of the profits are donated to organizations that promote a positive body image, such as the National Eating Disorder Association. YouSit | YouSit, the maker of ClassHack, has set out to improve college students' grades and reduce class drops. By collecting professor-specific video lessons from students who just aced those classes, ClassHack provides the targeted information students need to study smarter and get better grades. UMass Boston Launch Competition Hosted by the College of Management's Entrepreneurship Center and held at UMass Boston's Venture Development Center, the Launch Competition awards $5,000 in cash, as well as $5,000 in legal services, three months of access to the VDC and year-long subscriptions to Salesforce and Litmus. This year's winner was: Overthink Notes | Overthink Notes is a software platform that allows students to take notes, collaborate and prepare for exams. Emerson College's E3 Expo Emerson College's E3 Expo is the culmination of a year's worth of work and results in nearly $20,000 in cash and legal services being divvied up amongst the winners, which were: Crème de Liqueur | Crème de Liquer is creating a line of alcohol-infused ice cream. Stede Threads | Stede Threads is a headwear company for skateboarders that utilizes pieces of recycled skateboards to create one-of-a-kind three-dimensional appliques. Simmer Magazine | Simmer Magazine is a digital food magazine for college students that offers up budget conscious restaurant reviews, dorm friendly recipes and helpful tips for the college chef. Tufts $100K New Ventures Competition (ScriptEd founder and Tufts alumna Becca Novak)  The Tufts $100K New Ventures Competition celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Divided into two tracks — Social Ventures and Classic Ventures — the contest divvies up $50,000 in cash and another more than $50,000 of in-kind services among the winners. The grand-prize winners, each receiving $13,000, were: ScriptEd | A startup aimed at equipping students with the fundamental skills and experiences necessary to become creators of technology. BeTH (Benevolent Technologies for Health) | Creating an adjustable prosthetic liner aimed at increasing amputee comfort, while reducing fabrication time and overall costs. Other winners of the Tufts $100K included: AutismSees |  AutismSees creates tools that enhance presentation skills through rewards combined with a virtual audience mimicking human facial presence. Virtudent | Virtudent employs tele-health technology to help reduce over-treatment, reduce insurance fraud and increase oral health care access for underserved populations via virtual dental visits. GearCommons | GearCommons is the first website for peer-to-peer outdoor gear rentals. Protector Medical | Protector Medical's ivProtek provides a unique way to secure IVs that is streamlined, simple and painless. Tufts' Ideas Competition Tufts also held its inaugural Ideas Competition, which provides early-stage startups with the mentorship, funding and support they need to bring their ideas to the next level — or, next year's Tufts $100K. The first three winners were: Trapsaver | Trapsaver is a product to prevent the loss of sea fishing traps. Hadori Catheter | A product to augment the effective visualized field during a colonoscopy. Syria Bicycle Company | Syria Bicycle Company is an enterprise aimed at employing displaced Syrians through bicycle manufacturing. Related: Wentworth's Accelerate Awards 10 Student Startups with a Collective $43K  MIT Clean Energy Prize The MIT Clean Energy Prize is focused on three main categories: renewable energy, infrastructure and resources, and energy efficiency. Participating startups compete in one of those areas for their chance at winning the first-place prize of $125,000. This year's lucky finalist was: Unified Solar | A startup focused on helping the solar industry create cost-effective solar panels whose output is not affected when partially shaded. The team's patent-pending integrated chip roughly doubles the average energy capture improvement of similar technologies. MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition Roughly 330 teams applied to this year's MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition, yet one grand-prize winner prevailed. And that was: Disease Diagnostic Group | A startup whose product uses a magnet and laser pointer to determine whether or not malaria parasites are present in a patient's blood — all in less that one minute. Harvard Business School's New Venture Competition (Harvard Business School's New Venture Competition)  Harvard Business School's 2014 New Venture Competition — split into the Social Enterprise Track and the Business Track — gifted four new startups with $150,000 in cash. And they were: Alfred | A personal butler service that recently raised $2 million. With Alfred — currently offered on an invite-only basis in Boston and New York — customers can hire help to complete their daily and weekly tasks, such as dry cleaning, grocery shopping and laundry. Saathi | A startup that turns wasted banana tree fiber into affordable sanitary pads, as well as provides employment opportunities. Women in rural India are given the opportunity to manufacture the low-cost pads locally and then sell them door-to-door. Booya Fitness | Booya Fitness aims to revolutionize the physical fitness industry with its on-demand video platform, featuring workouts created by the best boutique gyms and instructors. Tomato Jos | Tomato Jos is a for-profit social enterprise helping turn Nigerian farmers into expert growers. The vertically integrated tomato processing company helps small farmers grow tomatoes that can then be made into tomato paste. The startup recently raised more than $55,000 on Kickstarter, which they will use to purchase $30,000 worth of tomatoes in their first month alone. Babson B.E.T.A. Challenge Standing for "Babson Entrepreneurial Thought and Action," the Babson B.E.T.A. Challenge awarded three alumni- and student-founded startups with their share of $100,000. Each victor received $20,000 in cash, plus "services in kind" donations from corporate sponsors, including law firms Pepper Hamilton and Pierce Atwood. Those victors were: Vedavoo | Vedavoo is an American builder of bags, backpacks and gear for outdoor recreation. Lilypad Scales | Lilypad Scales helps wheelchair users manage their health more effectively and maintain their independence. HigherMe | HigherMe is a website and mobile application that gives prospective employees the chance to submit short one-minute video introductions to any retail establishments in their area. HigherMe allows prospective employers to get a glimpse of the more human qualities necessary to succeed in retail environments. Northeastern's Husky Startup Challenge (Viper Vox at the Husky Startup Challenge) Hosted by the Northeastern Entrepreneurs Club, the Husky Startup Challenge awards roughly $5,000 to student startups with the most innovative ideas — and twice a year, at that. This year's recipients were: Trunkbook | Trunkbook is a service that allows consumers to make purchases live during an art exhibit or fashion show. Viper Vox | Viper Vox is an online platform that connects people who want to 3D print with individuals who have their own 3D printers. WiMap | WiMap's proprietary Bluetooth beacon technology provides an interactive, context-aware interior navigation experience, and allows for even higher resolution positioning for booth- and exhibit-level precision at concert venues or museums. Senci | Senci is a website that connects prospective college students with enrollees through overnight visits. Tabé | Tabé's e-platform provides young professional foodies with a way to connect with chefs via dinner events. CoClo | CoClo "will automatically update your phone's contact list if you change phone numbers." Harvard President's Challenge The goal of the Harvard President's to inspire students from across the University's campuses to collaborate and develop solutions to the world's most complex systemic problems. This year's $70,000 grand-prize winner was a prime example of that: VACU Scan | VACU Scan has developed a point-of-care, smartphone-based prognostic test for assisting in the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Deans' Cultural Entrepreneurship Challenge at Harvard (PIVOT wins; Image via Evgenia Eliseeva/the Harvard Innovation Lab) Developed in partnership with Harvard alumnus and renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Deans' Cultural Entrepreneurship Challenge tasks students with developing venture-based solutions that provide the organizational infrastructure necessary for artists and the arts to thrive. Walking away with $25,000 was: PIVOT | A mobile application that reveals images, videos and information about ancient and modern Palestinian history to visitors in locations that would otherwise be unmarked. Deans' Health and Life Sciences Challenge at Harvard The Deans’ Health and Life Sciences Challenge typically focuses on four key areas. For 2015, those will be: diagnostics and population disease management; devices and materials; health IT and wearables; and prevention and safety. This year's $40,000 winner, receiving funding from the Bertarelli Foundation, was: Aldatu Biosciences | Aldatu Biosciences is commercializing a technology that enables a cost-effective, accurate and efficient diagnosis of patients infected by drug-resistant strains of HIV. Deans' Design Challenge at Harvard The Deans' Design Challenge is focused on addressing the dilemmas facing the world's swiftly growing population. Winning the contest's inaugural $25,000 was: Six Foods | A startup creating insect-based food. The team's first snack is called "Chirps"— chips made out of wholesome beans, rice and cricket flour. The public has reacted favorably to the six-legged snack, which raised more than $70,000 on Kickstarter. Related: A Look Back at Rough Draft Ventures' Successful Semester