It’s a problem that needs solving, but no one wants to talk about it.
Kareem Elfoulie, a recent mechanical engineering graduate from Georgia Tech, created a noninvasive wearable that alerts caregivers when their senior loved ones need their incontinence garments changed.
Elfoulie, who presented his prototype Senior Shield to judges at the UGA Entrepreneurship Program’s Idea Accelerator Pitch Contest on Oct. 30, took home the first prize of $2,500.
“You’re clearly on to something given the traction you’ve already had,” said Ryan Elwart, president of the sustainable and adhesives division of materials company Mativ. “You’re going to need to sprint to some IP protection. You have formidable competitors in the incontinence space. If they think there’s something here, they will try to tangentially put something out there, which is a compliment.”
Elfoulie was one of a dozen student founders participating in this fall’s second UGA Entrepreneurship Idea Accelerator. The UGA Idea Accelerator is a four-week, intensive business workshop pairing student startups with entrepreneurs who coach them in customer discovery, financial literacy and investor readiness.
In addition to Elwart, judges for this pitch contest included Kris Nordholz, CEO of digital marketing company Full Media; Kelly Truesdell, assistant director of community programming at the UGA Health Center; Mark Kauffman, retired former owner and president of Kauffman Tire and Treadmaxx Tire Distributors; and Don Ouzts, who works with auditing and loss adjustment firm Engle Martin & Associates.
In addition to Senior Shield, the judges recognized Green Tree, an oat-based vegan sour cream developed by UGA food science graduate student Halle Greenbaum. Greenbaum commercially produces her sour cream for retail and direct-to-consumer sales at the UGA Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center in Griffin.
Judges gave third place to NicheBox, a one-stop hobby supply and lesson service developed by Jiya Patel and Khushi Bhatamrekar.
In addition to the top three businesses, judges watched presentations about:
- Carpool Dawgs, an app-based ride-finding service connecting groups of students and faculty members to carpools created by French exchange student Elisa Graingeot.
- Connected, a version control software that ensures both hardware and software updates are documented created by computer science student Sarayu Reddy.
- Erli, a task management and scheduling app for people living with ADHD created by computer science student Corey Borek.
- Factor, a social platform created by Ph.D. computer engineering student Jane Odum that is customized by colleges and universities to bring together student clubs and campus activities and allow students to connect in a way that feels familiar to them.
- Midnight Snackzz, a snack bar designed to avoid blood sugar spikes and support better sleep created by MIS student Michael Hearnes.
- Mindful Sprouts, an outdoor enrichment program for elementary-aged students created by UGA ecology student and mom Amaryah Lockett.
- Nealie’s Custom Designs, a laser-engraving business launched by sports management major Nealie Cook.
- TheraPal.ai, an AI chatbot that can serve as an entry point for traditional counseling and therapy for people who need help starting their journey created by cognitive science student Clark McDowell.
- UNEM, an online menu and platform that streamlines the ordering process for small to medium-sized restaurants proposed by Georgia State University student Steve Fernandes.
The mission of the UGA Entrepreneurship Program is to help develop the mindset of future entrepreneurs and prepare students for business leadership roles. UGA Entrepreneurship Program accelerators are open to UGA students and the Athens community.