Over the course of the summer, hundreds of people located in Ben Franklin’s 32-county footprint in Pennsylvania, visited BIGIDEA.BenFranklin.org to check out the rules and the easy application process for our $50,000 innovation contest.
On October 14, 2021 beginning at 2:00 PM, the eight finalists competed virtually via Zoom. They made their presentations to a panel of independent judges from CARGAS, Perceptive Automata, EG Associates Group, Sheetz, and Erie Insurance.
Ben Franklin Technology Partners is Pleased to Announce:
The First Place Winner, Faubion, located in Lancaster County, took home a cash prize of $30,000. The company, represented by Andrew Wolgemuth and Brian Elliott, created a 3D printing technology and newly developed wax resins that produce replicas of unique bridal ring designs.
The Second Place Winner, Neonatal Loving Kare, located in Clearfield, took home a cash prize of $20,000. The company, represented by Nicole Sawyers, Nicole Drayer, and Dan McCluskey, developed a patented, FDA approved NICU positioning devices for premature infants.
More than 225 audience members in attendance (Zoom) were able to vote for their favorite presentation. The People’s Choice Award of $2,500, sponsored by CARGAS, was awarded to Neonatal Loving Kare.
Stephen Brawley, President and CEO of Ben Franklin, commented, “We were so pleased with the response to this year’s contest. We had well over a hundred applicants which made narrowing down the pool to just eight finalists very difficult. Many thanks to our judges who did a great job of choosing the winners from such outstanding finalists. Congratulations to Faubion and Neonatal Loving Kare!
Other Finalists Included:
American Daedalus (Derek Smith, Jamie Hansen), located in Dauphin County, developed a system that remotely detects and helps avoid atmospheric turbulence.
BoB Profit Partners LLC (Craig Moyer, Raj Trivedi), located in York County, developed loss prevention technology that uses a sensor to detect when items are left behind in the shopping cart.
Consulting House USA LLC (Troy Bingham), located in Erie County, developed relocatable kiosks that will sell the LUMI “Better For You” food and beverage brand.
IL Fuels LLC (Paul Painter, Aron Lupinsky), located in Centre County, developed technology to recycle water from mining operations.
MUSE ENGINE (Ben Legum, Dr. Jody Strausser, Jennifer Vondran), located in Clarion County, creates temporary molds to achieve highly customizable, small batch production runs.
Swift Aeroseed LLC (Molly Cheatum, Jay Shettel, Bill Chain), located in Cumberland County, is an agricultural drone service company capable of carrying twice the amount of payload/seed
About Ben Franklin Technology Partners: The largest seed investor in our region, Ben Franklin Technology Partners (an initiative of the PA Department of Community & Economic Development and funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority) has been providing investment capital, business support services, and operational assistance to emerging tech-startups and small manufacturers for nearly 40 years. Visit cnp.benfranklin.org
