Three of six startup finalists in the ProtoTech: PITCH Challenge have direct ties to Case Western Reserve University: Hedgemon LLC, Ento Bio and Greenlite Technologies. The teams were selected from a pool of dozens of competitors.
Presented by the incubator at MAGNET (the Manufacturing Advocacy & Growth Network), the ProtoTech: PITCH competition gives early-stage technology startups in Northeast Ohio the opportunity to compete for prize money and display their prototypes.
Nate Swift, graduate student in the Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Programs for physics, is part of the team behind Hedgemon LLC, which is a biomimicry company that develops a hedgehog-inspired impact material for sports helmets.
Jeff Nargiel, a recent alumnus of the Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Programs for physics, is CEO of Ento Bio, which is developing a termite enzyme to address needs in the landscaping industry for tree stump removal.
Juniors Samuel Crisanti, a mechanical engineering major, and Ian Ferré, a math major, founded Greenlite Technologies, which creates a foot-powered charger that can be used in remote areas. Junior Evan Harris, a finance major, handles the business side of the venture.
The six finalists will participate in a pitch competition Thursday, Jan. 14.