On December 6, the Vanderbilt Center for Entrepreneurship hosted the third Firestarter Pitch Competition of the 2022 – 23 academic year. Firestarters provide an opportunity for all students, faculty, and staff at Vanderbilt to pitch their business concepts to a panel of judges and receive feedback. The winner receives a $500 prize to put toward furthering their business concept.
Judges for the December Firestarter:
Glen Clayton Co-Founder & Managing Partner at Mark Two Ventures
Sam Graber Entrepreneur & Award-winning Podcaster
Alex Morton Managing Director at Actual Insight Solutions
Brittani Roberts Principal at FINTOP Capital
Congratulations to our winner:
Vello
Presented by Vraj Shah (BA ’25)
Vello is a bike-sharing service for students that provides transportation at an 80% lower cost than other transportation-sharing services. The service allows bike owners to rent their bikes out for short-term rentals to students to get around campus or the local area.
Thank you to all the students who participated!
Save the Date Presented by Faisal Ahmed (MBA ’23)
Save the Date is a dating app designed to ensure every match leads to a date.
Tiny Foods Presented by Frances Ford (MMark ‘23)
Tiny Foods is provides cost-effective and low-waste options for cooking. The brand produces small, packaged ingredients of single or low serving sizes to allow consumers to purchase only what they need to cook with.
Munchley Presented by Daniel Hecht (MMark ’23)
Munchley machines provide fresh and local food at the convenience of a vending machine with state-of-the-art vending technology.
NER Presented by Dylan Makani (BA ’24)
NER is bringing light to autism youth and families through an app designed to improve communication, provide a social outlet, and promote education.