Colorado Colleges fifth annual Big Idea competition, with $50,000 in seed money at stake, yielded three very different and very creative winners.

In first place was FlyPhone, which received $30,000. The was team comprised of six seniors: John Silvester, Dan Keogh, Ben Tweedy, Kiki Kauffman, Teddy Corwin, and Matt Levitan. Pitching the idea to the panel of judges were Tweedy and Kauffman, who explained FlyPhones concept of using a drone to turn a cellphone into a personal cameraman. The essence of their pitch states that By leveraging the power of your smartphone, our purpose-built software and drone body capture HD video from a more natural distance than a selfie stick, while affording a more intimate shot than any other drone on the market.

In second place was Chica Chocolate, which received $10,000. Team members Cassidy Lam 19 and Elise Morgan, who attends the University of Colorado, have been friends since they met in seventh-grade gym class (as did Ben and Jerry, they noted). Their high-quality chocolate truffles are infused with a Chinese herbal formula designed to ease monthly hormone cycles. Chica Chocolates are delivered to customers on a subscription basis.

Also receiving $10,000 was third-place Ogugu, made up of team members Harvey Kadyanji 18 and John Roy Ballossini Dommett 18. Ogugu is a business analytics platform empowering owners of micro enterprises with inventory management, bookkeeping, and operations reporting and forecasting. Initially aimed at Tanzanian micro enterprises, it offers an affordable mobile solution aimed at improving the performance, efficiency, and growth of Tanzanian commerce.

Two other teams made it to the final competition, culled from an initial field of 17 teams. They were Spindle, a neurotechnology company that uses a sleep headband to optimize mental performance and expand the capabilities of the human mind. Team members were Ben Hicks 18, Alec Sheffield 18, and Henry Alderson-Smith 18. Also making it to the finals was TREEhouse, which provides a treehouse vacation with a social and environmental emphasis. Team members include Kat Jacaruso 17, Erin Burk 17, and Cora Lubchenco 17.

The judging panel featured entrepreneurs Meriwether Hardie 09, Richard Koo 82, Kishen Mangat 96, Susan Smith Kuczmarski 73, and five-time judge Bob Selig 61.

It was a spectacular job on the part of all five teams, Kuczmarski says, noting the uniqueness and creativity of each. As a judge, Kuczmarski considered each proposal based on a set of criteria: the need for it, its uniqueness, the scalability of the project, financial viability, and what competitive advantage would it have in a market setting. All had different strengths, and it was hard to pick the winner. The first- and second-place winners will advance to the Angel Capital Summit, held March 21 at the University of Denver, where they will compete in the University Startup Challenge.

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5th Annual Big Idea Competition Nets Three Winners Colorado ... - Colorado College News