May 21, 2015

Westphal students took home a raft of awards at two recent Business Competitions that challenged participants to develop their creative ideas into viable products, goods, and services. In the Ian J. Berg Business Plan Competition, which engages students from across the University, six out of seven semi-finalist teams were represented by Westphal students. Design & Merchandising students’ pitch for LacquerONE, a single-use nail polish product, received second place in the competition, and Music Industry students’ Beatsology, an app that syncs to music libraries to create workout playlists that vary in intensity, was awarded third place. Separately, in the annual Nina Henderson Challenge, Westphal College students receive mentorship from top industry professionals and faculty and earn meaningful financial support.  First prize this year was awarded to Neuroband, which was developed by a team of Design & Merchandising students to provide consumers who suffer from epilepsy with a way to detect and monitor their seizures. Beatsology took home second place in the Henderson Challenge, and third place was awarded to Design & Merchandising students’ Safety Buds, a set of safety-technology headphones that allows users to tune into music while being alerted to dangers around them.

The Ian J. Berg Business Plan Competition is designed to help student entrepreneurs and their teams develop their business ideas, receive feedback and mentoring, and compete for cash prizes. It also provides opportunities for networking, brainstorming and development of future entrepreneurial opportunities. LacquerONE was developed by Design & Merchandising students Emily Sheeran, Taylor Blair, Amelia Holiday and Juliana Loiacono. In offering just enough polish for one application, it aims to eliminate wasteful spending on full-sized nail polish bottles whose contents are never fully used. Beatsology was developed by Music Industry students Victoria Powell, Anna Greenwald and Alexandria Rudsill. The app is able to sync to a device library or Spotify account, creating playlists based on the user’s desired workout intensity and BPM (beats per minute) of a song. The College extends its congratulations to these students and to all of the teams who represented Westphal as semi-finalists in the Ian J. Berg Competition, which included those who developed Safety Buds and Neuroband as well as Design & Merchandising students’ Click on Cubbies, and Magic Caravan Collective, from Entertainment & Arts Management students.

The Henderson Challenge is made possible through the generous support of Nina Henderson, a trustee of Drexel University and the Drexel College of Medicine. Neuroband, the first place pitch, was developed by a team of Design & Merchandising students that included Nicole Henzel, Allegra Yanelli, Frances Mullmann and Rachel Horner. Safety Buds was developed by Design & Merchandising students Olivia D’Ottavi, Georgia ElGhazal, Sara Murad and Amanda Schauer.

Congratulations to all of these teams for their excellent pursuit of understanding business realities. Click for more information about the Ian J. Berg Competition, the Henderson Challenge, and other student Entrepreneurship opportunities at Westphal.