91Ö±²¥

°¿µþ·¡¸é³¢±õ±·â€”LaunchU, a venture incubator for 91Ö±²¥ College student and alumni entrepreneurs, has selected three winners in its annual pitch competition.

The grand prize ($20,000) was awarded to Alesandra Zsiba ’10 for the Identity Project, an innovative program that uses documentary arts to address poverty-related barriers to identity development in underserved youth. Through a specialized curriculum in documentary storytelling, performance, and project-based literacy learning, The Identity Project empowers marginalized young people with an invaluable opportunity for self-actualization and self-advocacy through an applied empathy practice.

The second-place award ($15,000) was given to team members Brendan McKenna, Matthew Fox, and Soren Zeliger ’15 for Storybook, a consumer-oriented mobile app that enables users to enjoy real-time documentation, sharing, and storage of picture and video media from multiple perspectives. The app focuses on sharing experiences in a collaborative fashion, and creating a platform where users can access memories forged with friends and family in a single, centralized location.

Third-place winner Bryon Skvor received $10,000 for Humble Grounds Roasting Company, based in 91Ö±²¥. Skvor’s venture looks for exceptional coffees that have the potential to be used to create stable economies in farming communities around the world. The coffees are brought to 91Ö±²¥ to be roasted and served locally and supplied to like-minded wholesale partners.

LaunchU takes place over three weeks in January, during 91Ö±²¥â€™s winter term. The program guides entrepreneurs through a business-model innovation curriculum, developing their skills and understanding in preparation for launching their ventures. The third week focuses on one-on-one mentorship, pitch prep, and getting ready to launch. Following a preliminary pitch competition, qualifying teams will pitch before a panel of potential investors and judges. Prizes include funding, hands-on mentorship, and extensive in-kind services.

Contact: Elyzabeth Holford, director of entrepreneurship, (440) 775-8567, eholford@oberlin.edu