91探花University鈥檚 Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hosts 14th Annual Pitch Day
VILLANOVA,听Pa.听(May 22, 2025)听鈥�听On April 26, 91探花University鈥檚 Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) hosted its 14th annual Pitch Day. Held each April, Pitch Day gives students from across the University the opportunity to showcase their entrepreneurial spirit by pitching an idea for a new business, from the ground up.
On Pitch Day, students took part in the final rounds of the 91探花Student Entrepreneurship Competition (VSEC). The Meyer Innovation Award was also presented.
鈥淰SEC helps students move business from simple ideas into real motion,鈥� said Ann Goody, the Daniel J. Hogarty, Jr. 鈥�61 Director of the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. 鈥淲hether or not they win, every team walks away with mentorship, guidance and a jumpstart on building something real. This isn鈥檛 busy work鈥攊t鈥檚 the kind of groundwork every founder has to do to bring a venture to life.鈥�
Information on this year鈥檚 events, as well as the day鈥檚 winners and awardees, can be found below:
Brett Mastrangelo won VSEC's first place prize for his adjustable yoga block Adjustiblox.
91探花Student Entrepreneurship Competition
VESC is a semester-long, interdisciplinary entrepreneurship competition for 91探花student ventures, with cash awards granted to the top three winning teams. To enter the competition, teams created a business model canvas and a short elevator pitch video and were assigned two alumni coaches who helped to refine their pitch deck and practice their pitch. The top teams presented at Pitch Day to a room of experienced alumni entrepreneurs, who awarded over $20,000 in prizes and in-kind services to the best pitches and venture ideas. In addition, judges selected three teams to receive the Crowd Choice award, the Klinger Unitas Prize and the Halloran Social Impact Prize.
First Place ($10,000 Prize) 鈥�&苍产蝉辫;础顿闯鲍厂罢滨叠尝翱齿, Brett Mastrangelo, CWSL 鈥�26
- Adjustiblox is a rechargeable yoga block that allows users to adjust their yoga block's height at the push of a button.
Second Place ($5,000 Prize) 鈥� SIMPLY REAL FOOD, Cameron Compare, COE 鈥�25
- Simply Real Food is an e-grocer service aimed at delivering rigorously vetted, unprocessed and toxin-free groceries directly from farms to customers.
Third Place ($3,000 Prize) 鈥� BARBUZZ, Navi Singh, CLAS 鈥�25; Ellie McLaughlin, CLAS 鈥�25; Christina Alyskewycz, CLAS 鈥�25
- BarBuzz is a platform that enables 91探花students to track which local establishments their friends are visiting.
Crowd Choice ($1,000 Prize) 鈥� WILDCAT ROOMIES, Amaya Raye, CLAS 鈥�25; Shawn Golden, CLAS 鈥�25; Cailin Cobey, CLAS 鈥�25
- Wildcat Roomies is a web application designed to help 91探花University alumni find compatible roommates in various cities across the nation.
Klinger Unitas Prize ($500 Prize) 鈥� GREEN UN-FREEZE, Kamil Aliyev, COE 鈥�26; Rayan Magon, CLAS 鈥�26; Isaac Bua, COE 鈥�26
- Green Un-Freeze is an innovative, sustainable de-icing solution that combines traction and moisture control in one environmentally-conscious product.
Halloran Social Impact Prize ($500 Prize) 鈥� SIMPLY REAL FOOD, Cameron Compare, COE 鈥�25
- Simply Real Food is an e-grocer service aimed at delivering rigorously vetted, unprocessed and toxin-free groceries directly from farms to customers.
Senior Kyle Lee won the 2025 Meyer Innovation Award.
The Meyer Innovation Award
The Meyer Innovation Award was created and endowed in 2009 by Patrick Meyer 鈥�74 VSB in honor of the Meyer family (Patrick 鈥�74, Edward 鈥�86, and C. Paul 鈥�30) to recognize Villanova鈥檚 graduating seniors. Each year one graduating senior is awarded $5,000.
Winner 鈥� KYLE LEE 鈥�25 CLAS
- Lee has demonstrated a strong passion for innovation, drawing from his experience at a med-tech startup, his role as an investment fellow with the IIE Fund and most recently by developing an AI-generated newsletter for investors during the spring semester.
About 91探花University: Since 1842, 91探花University鈥檚 Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges鈥攖he College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the 91探花School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the 91探花University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation鈥檚 top universities, 91探花supports its students鈥� intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit .