Two startups represented by students in the Entrepreneurial Law Clinic are competing for the top spot in Inc. magazine’s “16 Coolest College Startups of 2016.”

Slice Capital, a mobile-based equity crowdfunding startup that lets individuals invest in small business, and WindiGo Turbines, which created a wind turbine prototype that produces clean energy efficiently, are among the 16 up-and-coming businesses vying for the title of “Coolest Startup.”  

Both companies are getting free legal assistance from law students through the school’s Entrepreneurial Law Clinic.  

Either company has a shot at the title, said 3L Stanford Ponson, who admits to some bias, since both are his clients.

“They are both ambitious,” Ponson said. “They’re both operating in markets that are relatively new.”

Along with classmate Matt Klahre, Ponson is helping the undergraduate students from Penn’s Wharton School to form as a Delaware Corporation.  On his own, Ponson is working with the Drexel engineering students who launched WindiGo Turbines to establish governance documents that spell out the founders’  respective rights and responsibilities.  

Ponson said students, under clinic Director Steve Rosard’s guidance, interview prospective clients and elect to work only with those who have developed viable plans to build their businesses.

“What’s impressed me about both Slice and WindiGo is that they have solid ideas and they’re actually making them happen,” Ponson said.