USF Nault Center for Entrepreneurship

Earlier this week, we hosted the final pitch day for the Hafer “THRIVE” Pre-Seed Award Program, showcasing another incredible semester of innovation and entrepreneurship. Each semester, this program opens applications to faculty and students, giving teams the opportunity to pitch their ventures for up to $10,000 in funding. This time, 11 teams presented their ideas in front of a panel of expert judges.

A huge thank you to judges Lance Raab, Brian Deming, Tom Wallace, Jennifer Sineway and Kevin Bass for sharing their time and expertise. A special thank you as well to Andy and Eileen Hafer for their generous support in making this event possible. Read the full story about their recent impact on our students at usf.to/haferstory.

Congratulations to our winners:

Addison Bounds winning $10,000 with Elora, wearable technology that helps users identify drink tampering

Darren Booth winning $5,000 with Groovy Smoothie Pops, healthy protein-packed ice pops

Nicholas Eisengrein winning $5,000 with 9Yaps, an app that features local business discounts

Jackson Poynor and Sudeepa Pasupuleeti winning $5,000 with Simple Referral, which converts lost healthcare referrals into patient visits

We’re excited to see the next round of innovative ideas presented this fall!

Recently, we hosted the 2026 USF x TGH Innovation Healthcare Pitch Competition, where participants developed scalable, real-world solutions to today’s healthcare challenges.

Students from across Florida competed, representing the University of South Florida, University of Central Florida, University of Tampa, State College of Florida, Florida State University and the University of Florida.

Thank you to Tampa General Hospital’s Innovation Center for hosting and for your generous support in making this event possible.

Here are our 2026 winners:

1st Place ($5,000)
Jakab Kabai, Tony Nguyen and Dang Nguyen (USF)
AI-powered cardiac surgery copilot

2nd Place ($2,000)
Hemdutt Rao and Kai McFarlane (USF)
Clinically guided eyewear marketplace

3rd Place ($1,000)
Alejandro Paneque, Lorenzo Bazzani and Ananya Bhatheja (UCF)
AI-powered pediatric sepsis predictor

This year, we also introduced a special award in memory of David Pizzo, recognizing a student whose innovation reflects compassion, leadership and a commitment to improving affordability, accessibility and outcomes for underserved communities.

David Pizzo Memorial Award ($2,000)
Addison Bounds and Kiara Robichaud (USF)
Drink-spiking detection wearable

A huge thank you to our judges, Chris Pizzo, Dr. James Taylor, Dr. Lina Bouayad and Jason Swoboda, for contributing their time and expertise to support our students and this initiative.

Sign up for this upcoming webinar on Tuesday, May 5, from 5–6 p.m. to learn more about our nationally ranked MS in Entrepreneurship program!

Register now: usf.to/ent-info

This is your last chance to apply for the 2026 USF Business Plan Championship! Applications are due tonight at midnight.

Apply Now: usf.to/bpc26

Last chance to apply for the THRIVE program! Applications are due tomorrow, April 17 at midnight.

Don’t miss your opportunity to compete for up to $10,000 in funding and pitch your business on May 8.

usf.to/thrive

Congratulations to the winners of Friday’s USF SOREP Real Estate Case Competition!

This year’s competition introduced a new format, with participants selecting one of four distinct properties to analyze and form a detailed investment analysis showcasing their financial acumen and creativity.

The first-place team, earning $2,500, included Guillermo Kuljis, Ian Meiselman, Brock Shontz, Zeki Sert and Vicente Oswald.

Second place went to Kaitlyn Christiano.

Third place was awarded to Kayla Facey, Billy Joe Uyam, Parnian Rezapour and Angelica Macarulay.

Thank you to our keynote speaker, Tyler Lohmiller, and judges Wyatt Krapf, Kyle Bellini, Graeme Fraser and Joshua Streitmatter for generously sharing your time and expertise.

We also appreciate the support of the Society of Real Estate Professionals (SOREP), Valley Bank and the USF Real Estate Society for sponsoring this event.

Sharing a free marketing webinar from USF CONNECT on Thursday, April 9 at 11 a.m.

Learn how to clearly communicate what you do, connect your work to real needs, and turn interest into action!

Register at usf.to/connectwebinar.

Get up to $10,000 in funding for your business through our THRIVE program. Apply by April 17, and pitch on May 8.

Open to USF students of all majors and faculty. Visit usf.to/THRIVE to apply!

We had a great time co-hosting this year’s Entrepalooza! Check out the full story on our website: usf.to/entrepalooza26