Fall 2016 Pitch Competition

IDEAS Pitch Competition Awards

Twenty-five IDEAS student projects were showcased on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the HCC’s Students Exhibition & Showcase area. Pitch presentations took place on the main stage on between 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Judges for the presentations included John Reale from Station Houston & TiE Houston, Jorge Claudio from Silver Fox Advisors, and Raymond Brown from Houston Community College. Awards were presented on Sunday, 1pm to 2pm, on stage by Ravi Brahmbhatt & Dr. Maya Durnovo from Houston Community College and Mike Hinkle & David Brunet from Innovation Spark, LLC 501(3) – organizers of Houston Maker Faire. All events took place during the Houston Maker Faire at George R. Brown Convention Center where over 7,500 people attended over the weekend program.

Congratulations to the 2016 IDEAS Pitch Competition Winners.

1st Place Winner

$1500 Cash Prize, 6-month membership to a commercial makerspace, 3-month membership to co-working space in town

Group Name: Vecense
Group Members: Rishabh Jain (HCC Alumni), Arsheen Memon (HCC Alumni), Kiran Meghani, Bryan Martinez, & Emmit Schultz
School: University of Houston
IDEAS Description: Our hydrophobic coating repels water and contaminants by reducing building up on solar panel surfaces, therefore increasing the efficiency of solar energy production.

2nd Place Winner

$750 Cash Prize, 3-month membership to a commercial makerspace, 2-month membership to co-working space in town

Name: Nathalie Meremikwu
School: Houston Community College
IDEAS Description: SMARTroom is a system of computational problem solving experiences that center on teaching children how to automate their everyday lives. SMART room is our proposed addition to the movement to teach children how to think like programmers. SMARTroom is a system of computational problem solving experiences that center on teaching children how to automate their everyday lives.

3rd Place Winner

$250 Cash Prize & 1-month membership to a commercial makerspace, 1-month membership to co-working space in town

Name: Iraz Tejani
School: Kempner High School
IDEAS Description: My idea is to bring simple home lighting automation to everyone for a low price. This helps save energy and has huge economic potential.

Twenty-five IDEAS projects were showcased at the Houston Maker Faire on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the HCC's Students Exhibition & Showcase area.  Pitch presentations took place on stage on between 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.  Judges for the presentions include John Reale from Station Houston & TiE Houston, Jorge Claudio from Silver Fox Advisors, and Raymond Brown from Houston Community College.  Awards were presented by Ravi Brahmbhatt & Dr. Maya Durnovo of Houston Community College and Mike Hinkle & David Brunet of Innovation Spark 501(3) from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.  All events took place in the Houston Maker Faire at George R. Brown Convention Center.

All participants all participants will receive:

  • Assistance in the Development of a Business Plan (Provided by Houston Community College)
  • Access to Idea Validation Lab Training (Provided by Good Works Houston)
  • One on One VC Guidance and Consultation (Provided by TiE Houston, Greater Houston Partnership, Schlumberger, Good Works Houston and Silver Fox Advisors)
  • Invitation to Tour of the new Station Houston co-working space in downtown
  • Special access to up to $10,000 of Seed funding from Bayou Microfund
  • Small promotional items from Schlumberger and CenterPoint Energy
  • Special Invitation to tour Schlumberger-Sugar Land Campus
  • Publicized on HCC and Innovation Spark Web Properties 

Over 7,500 attended the Houston Maker Faire over Saturday and Sunday, with over 150 exhibitors showcasing cool innovations and promoting science, technology, engineering and math!

Looking for inspiration for next year? Check out what the community of Makers are doing. Learn more about Houston Maker Faire.

More about the competition

General information

Houston Community College and Innovation Spark’s co-sponsored IDEAS Pitch Competition is designed to explore innovative approaches to answering pressing sustainability and societal needs. The competition is open to currently enrolled students in any greater Houston area High School, College, and/or University. All qualifying student projects to be presented and awarded at the Houston Mini Maker Faire at George R. Brown Convention Center. This year, the Mini Tech Faire events will take place at HCC West Loop Campus (Southwest), Felix Fraga Campus (Southeast) and Alief-Hayes campus locations (Northwest). Students are encouraged to attend the Mini Tech Faire events to learn more about the competition and apply in person (or online) and selected finalist will be invited to present at Houston Mini Maker Faire at George R. Brown Convention Center. All IDEAS welcome!

 

Schedule of events (Mini Tech Faire events)

IDEAS 2016 Competition opens September 1 and closes November 8th 2016 11:59pm.   (Note: The close date of October 15th, has been moved to Nov. 8th)

Mini Tech Faire Events at:

Note: Events are open to the public, student are encouraged to attend Mini Tech Faire events and apply in person for the competition.  Students can also apply online before Nov. 8th.

Mini Tech Faire are community events where local makers, HCC COEs and faculty, high school and college students gather to foster entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology. If you’re a do-er with big ideas, whether crafter, artist, inventor, maker or entrepreneur, attend Mini Tech Faire and Houston Mini Maker Faire for this empowering access to people who can help you achieve your ambitions.   These events are completely free to the public.  Registration encouraged!

Finals Public Presentations:

Note: Student competing in the IDEAS competition must be invited by Program Director to present.  Free pass to Houston Maker Faire will be provided to students only, accompanying parents or friends must purchase tickets. 

  • Finals Showcase at Houston Maker Faire @ GRB Nov 12. (10am to 6pm)
  • Awards ceremony at Houston Maker Faire @ GRB Nov. 13th (10am to 5pm) 

 

 

Judging Criteria

The criteria is based on solving societal need that has high impact (affects many), sustainable (Eco friendly/Green), creates value or fills a gap, and can (or has) be prototyped, tested, or validated.

Ideas will be judged on the following primary criteria:

  • Social Impact (Number of people impacted or lives affected)
  • Economic Impact (value creation)
  • Environmental Impact (Sustainability/Green Footprint)
  • Completeness of the Idea (Feasibility/Thoughtfulness)

 

Student requirements

1. Write an essay about the concept or idea

  • Provide details on Social, Economic and Environmental Impact (what problem are you solving?)
  • Provide estimates on Cost (to develop the Idea or test it or market it)

2. Provide a Visual Concept of the idea, if applicable

  • 3d Printed Sample or design
  • Photo/Drawing/Other

3. Develop a short video pitch (Optional - but recommended)

  • Post it on YouTube as a public video or an unlisted video
  • Prepare a poster board for Show and Tell (Mini Tech Faire) events

Note: A Poster Board (required only for students invited to present at Houston Maker Faire)

  • Problem: What problem does your idea solve?
  • Unique Value: What value will your idea add to your users or customers, how is it unique and how does it solve a specific problem that they have?
  • Early Adopter: Who do you anticipate will use your product or service first? How do you plan to target them?
  • Team: Why would your team be the right one to carry the product or service to the marketplace?
  • Competitors: Are there any competitors in your space? If so how is your product different?
  • Timeline/Strategic Goals: If your team were to win the competition, what would your timeline and goals be for the next 6 months?

 

 

Fill out my online form.

Sponsored by the Office of Entrepreneurial Initiatives, 3100 Main, Suite 12E16 Houston, TX 77002

For more information, call Ravi Brahmbhatt at 713.718.5269 or email: ravi.brahmbhatt@hccs.edu

IDEAS Competition events schedule, rules, awards, and this page was updated on 10/6/2016.

Click here to see Past competition winners