The University of Illinois Grainger College of Engineering startup team, Resolv, won third place with $50,000 in funding at the 12th Annual College New Venture Challenge (CNVC) Finals hosted by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago. Additionally, Resolv received the newly introduced Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize with $12,500 in funding.
The CNVC, an undergraduate student startup accelerator, is open to returning undergraduate students from UChicago, as well as students in the Grainger Engineering's Startup City Scholars program.
Led by Information Sciences student William Lawson, Resolv is a digital asset security company enabling web3 businesses to recover stolen crypto. Through token-wrapping technology and decentralized arbitration, its solution aims to make addressing digital asset theft as straightforward as resolving credit card fraud in traditional finance.
This year, Grainger Engineering also distributed the new Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize, with a total prize pool of $75,000, among six teams from the Grainger Engineering's Startup City Scholars program. This prestigious prize supports CNVC teams comprising students from both the University of Illinois and the University of Chicago. Participation in the final round of the CNVC competition was not a requirement for competing for the Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize.
Jed Taylor, Assistant Dean of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Grainger Engineering remarked, “This year marks a significant milestone with the introduction of the Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize, a testament to our commitment to fostering cross-university collaboration and innovation. Our students have consistently showcased their cutting-edge new business venture ideas at the CNVC, demonstrating the impact of merging engineering excellence with business acumen. Congratulations to this year’s winning teams. We are excited to follow their entrepreneurial paths and witness the impact of their innovations."
The 2024 CNVC finals featured seven teams who presented their business plans to a judging panel on March 1, with each team securing funding. Among the seven CNVC finalist teams, four featured students from the Grainger Engineering’s Startup City Scholars program. Resolv, (3rd place, $50K), MethaFarm (4th place, $10K), BYLD Innovation (4th place, $10K) were led by UIUC founders. Domain Diligence, led by UChicago student with UIUC team members, also won a fourth place with $10,000 in funding. All four mixed teams also received additional funding from the Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize.
CNVC Fourth Place Winners and Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize Recipients:
MethaFarm | $30,000 Total Funding | Led by Mechanical Science & Engineering student Aman Mehta, MethaFarm aims to localize and improve the sustainability of small-scale farm waste management systems. MethaFarm also received an additional $20,000 in funding from the Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize pool. The startup utilizes small anaerobic digesters to process the waste into fertilizer and biogas, which can be converted into electricity. The carbon byproduct is then captured and sold.
Domain Diligence | $30,000 Total Funding | Led by the University of Chicago student Sophie Rydzewski with UIUC students, Domain Diligence received an additional $20,000 in funding from the Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize pool. Domain Diligence is an online platform that helps investment banks speed up and simplify the due diligence processes for M&A transactions, letting them focus on delivering the most value for the client.
BYLD Innovations | $22,500 Total Funding | Led by Karan Jain, Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering student, BYLD Innovations is building a revolutionary, portable, and foldable 3D printer for increasing accessibility to 3D printing and innovation. The startup also received an additional $12,500 in funding from the Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize pool.
Grainger Engineering CNVC Prize Recipients:
Craft-A-Lotta | $5,000 | Led by Madeline Rodriguez, Aerospace Engineering and ILEE Dual Degree student, Craft-A-Lotta is a secondary market, go-to ecosystem for previously owned craft supplies that allows crafters to buy and sell craft supply lots from one another at a reduced price point.
KalyaanKosh | $5,000 | KalyaanKosh, led by Kushagra Gupta, Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering student, is a pioneering Indian jewelry startup bridging the gap between traditional jewelers and online customers. The startup aims to empower small to medium-sized jewelers, showcase their craftsmanship, and connect them with online buyers, all while fostering collaboration with freelance designers.
Through the nine weeklong cohort, Startup City Scholars students leverage Chicago’s many resources for entrepreneurs, encouraging them to build businesses in Chicago after graduation. The collaborative entrepreneurship program is successfully helping students of both institutions bring their innovative ideas to the market. Startup City Scholars past UIUC teams include Top Tier Lessons, DeepWalk, Haylon Technologies, Teneez, and Sakura MedTech.
Read about the other winning teams of the 2024 CNVC program here.