Center for Entrepreneurship

• Pipeline – magnet, teacher and pipeline of entrepreneurial talent
• Community catalyst – nerve center for startups and information spillovers
• Insight – source of insight about startups and communities

Announcements

Demo Day Winners:

Impact X is one of the most coveted and prestigious experiences at the College of Charleston. Impact X is a sustainability-focused course and part of the College’s quality enhancement plan (QEP), “Sustainability Literacy as a Bridge to Addressing 21st century problems.” Students are cross-trained (i.e. “Navy Seals training”) in creative design, business and technology to provide them with the tools to form sustainability-focused startups. At the end of the semester, ImpactX Students pitch their product to a panel of judges to win cash prizes to start their business. Below are the Fall 2020 ImpactX Winner and People's Choice Winner. 

ImpactX Demo Day Winner: PrediHome

PrediHome is a one-stop-shop of community and environmental data for prospective homebuyers. We offer environmental risk assessment including hurricane and flooding risks, community demographics such as voting patterns and average age or income in an area, and traffic patterns. Charleston experienced flooding 89 times in 2019 alone, resulting in both trauma and financial loss for owners, some of whom were unaware of this possibility. The PrediHome application addresses the UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 “creating sustainable cities and communities” by giving buyers the opportunity to view important data about a property before investing their life savings on it. We use APIs to gather data from various public sources and display this data in a user friendly format. We aim to keep homebuyers safe and financially secure when they choose a place to call home.

ImpactX Demo Day People's Choice Winner: Palmetto Points 

Palmetto Points, an app that motivates individuals to cut down the carbon footprint of their daily commute by providing a catalogue of discounts and special offers from local businesses. This is our way to make people intentionally use the green route and contribute to their local economy. So, how does it work? Everytime the user gives up their car and chooses to either walk or bike, they will earn points. These points can then be used to redeem offers from their favorite local shops, restaurants and breweries.

To learn more about ImpactX, click here!

DEMOS Pitch Competition Winners: 

The Disability and Entrepreneurship: Models of Success (DEMOS) initiative supports the development of new entrepreneurial endeavors that fully incorporate principles of Universal Design in students’ business models. Successful applications are those that (a) offer a viable, competitive business model, and (b) utilize Universal Design principals to develop a workforce, work environment, product, service, or system that is fully inclusive and universally accessible; particularly for workers and individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A core element is the emphasis on educating entrepreneurs about the genuine value that individuals with disabilities bring to the workplace and their value as customers. Every semester students pitch their DEMOS products to a panel of judges. Below are the Fall 2020 Demos Pitch Competition Winners: 

 Matthew Barnes 

The Scrubby Dubby Timer is a voice guided timer for children who are learning to shower independently. The Scrubby Dubby Timer can teach children how to apply soap, shampoo and conditioner efficiently.  It uses song and bubbly narration to accompany kids in the process of learning to shower. Scrubby Dubby Timer aspires to use simple and intuitive universal design to automate the teaching process for busy parents as well as empowering all kids to shower independently.

Addison MacPhee

WalkWithMe is a navigation app that provides users with personalized routes based on their preferred safety level and mode of transportation. The app uses reviews from the community on the area and businesses nearby to calculate the safety score for an area. Users will not be routed through areas with lower ratings than they feel comfortable with. Additionally, the app takes into account the mode of transportation (walking, wheelchair, biking, driving, and public transportation) to determine the best route and what the user needs, such as curb cuts for someone in a wheelchair. Because of the simple design as well as adaptability to the user’s needs, WalkWithMe aligns with the Universal Design principles of flexible and equitable use.

To learn more about DEMOS, click here!

Great Entrepreneur Speaker Series