In the second annual UR Business Pitch Competition, the Sniff-Stick, presented by senior Dan Brunt and Christopher Genualdi, won first place and the $2,000 prize.
Brunt and Genualdi pitched the Sniff-Stick, a "breath mint for your nose," to a panel of five judges from outside the school.
"This is the first time we've pitched the idea to potential investors," Genualdi said. "It's a learning opportunity and a financial opportunity."
The Sniff-Stick is a chapstick-like container with an opening on each end. The top screws off, allowing the user to sniff the fragrant oils inside the stick. The bottom is a cap where a person can get a dab of the oil to put under the nose, on the temples to reduce headaches, or even on bug bites to help stop the itch.
The two stressed that their product was not just for medicinal purposes. Brunt got the idea when he was studying abroad in Thailand and saw people on the street with a similiar product.
Seniors David Whitehead and Salmaan Ayaz won the second place prize of $500 for their idea of Hoongle.org, a search engine that donates 20 grains of rice to the United Nations World Food Program for every search conducted on the site. The Web site has been getting publicity over the past few weeks, including an article in the New York Times on April 14.
"The publicity has been amazing," Whitehead said. "Everybody knows about us."
The four finalists advanced from a group of 26 teams on April 16.
One of the other finalists, pitched by senior Tripp Person, was Social-Addiction.com, a Web site that allows social venues to take pictures of people at the venue and post those photos on the Internet. It also allows for the venues to advertise coming events.
"There was a group of us studying abroad in Australia," Person said. "It was hard to get everybody to go out together. One night we were able to get everybody to go out together. Because of this type of service we have the lone group photo. Because of this photo, this venue sticks out in my mind."
The other finalist, Swaboo.com, is an on-campus textbook selling Web site that allows sellers to deliver the book in-person to the buyer, eliminating the need of shipping.
Each project was graded by the judges based on their concept, clarity of the presentation, comprehensiveness, realistic implementation and potential value of the good.
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Last year's competition was the first one and included 15 teams. Doug Bosse, assistant professor and management at the Robins Schools, headed the competition. He said he expects the competition, which is open to all students, to grow next year.
""I'd love to see 35 [teams] next year," he said.
Contact staff writer Andrew Prezioso at andrew.prezioso@richmond.edu
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