Hurricane Pitch Competition

Hurricane Pitch Competition is sponsored by University of Tulsa's Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship. An annual competition where TU students pitch their business ideas for a chance to win up to $25,000 in prizes.

Hurricane Pitch Competition – Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Hurricane Pitch Competition The annual “Shark Tank-style” competition showcasing TU student-created ideas and business ventures with the top three teams collectively winning $25,000 in cash prizes.

The competition is designed to give emerging collegiate entrepreneurs a real-world experience to pitch their startup ideas to investors, receive mentoring, network with the entrepreneurial ecosystem, enhance their startup strategy, and learn what it takes to launch a successful startup. Applications for the 4th Annual Hurricane Pitch Competition are now open!

HURRICANE PITCH APPLICATION – Fall 2026 Inaugural competition hosted November 2023 $25k in prize money provided by Regent Bank $7. 5k (1st Place), $3. 5k (2nd Place), $1.

5k (3rd Place) Undergraduate and Graduate The competition provides participants with personal and professional development through workshops and educational programming, industry-specific pitch deck mentorship, exclusive access to accomplished experts, and the opportunity to pitch VC for $25,000 in cash prizes and resources provided by Regent Bank.

Personalized Competition Prep Applicants will receive expert advice throughout the competition cycle such as founder assessments and one-on-one pitch deck feedback and coaching. More details on the 2026 Hurricane Pitch Competition will be announced soon. Empowers individuals to take control of their eye health through simple, affordable, and preventive screening.

The world’s first sensor designed to help adaptive and aging golfers easily read the slope and speed of the green. Turns outdated fingersticks into lightning fast scans, crushing bottlenecks, cutting waste, and giving donors the experience they deserve. Where donation meets innovation.

Robotics empowers farmers with actionable, ground-level intelligence to reduce crop loss, optimize resources, and address labor shortages. 2nd Place: Neuro-Detect AI An intelligent, mobile-first platform that uses deep learning to help detect brain tumors from MRI scans quickly and accurately.

3rd Place: ClearStrip Labs Revolutionizing at-home hormone testing with its novel Estradiol Test Kit, a fast, affordable, and convenient way to monitor estrogen levels in minutes. Tally, an eco-friendly and privacy-focused receipt management solution, took home $7,500 as the top undergraduate startup.

“This competition allowed us to showcase our business to the community and gain real momentum,” said Leah Saucedo, finance junior and CEO of Tally. “Having a supportive school and a platform like this makes all the difference.

2st Place: Living Water Aquaponics The second place undergraduate prize of $3,500 was awarded to Living Water Aquaponics, which grows lettuce, microgreens, and tilapia in a climate-controlled greenhouse, providing high-quality food to upscale restaurants and grocery stores in Tulsa.

Third place and a $1,500 check went to Aura Patch, which aims to transform epilepsy care through the development of an innovative micro-sweat biomarker patch. 1st Place: G&J Sensing Solutions The graduate category winner was G&J Sensing Solutions, which seeks to mitigate harmful gas emissions – particularly methane – using micro-sensor technology.

Gerardo Vera, CEO of G&J Sensing Solutions, is a UTulsa Cyber Fellow and pursuing a doctorate in cyber studies. He said the win is an incentive. “Our effort is actually meaningful, and it’s recognized by big people – people who are able to invest,” he said.

“They know how to invest their money in the next best thing, so they’re seeing us as a good opportunity to invest. That means that we are on the right path, and we should keep improving and working on our solution. ” Vera said the prize money will go toward developing prototypes.

Initially, the team was simply trying to advance science. “But when we heard about an opportunity to go further, [we thought] maybe we can create it for ourselves and also contribute to the country, to the environment, to the economy as a whole,” he said. Second place and $3,500 went to Havita, which utilizes artificial intelligence to create customized plans to help users optimize goals during sleep.

Third place and $1,500 was awarded to Auximotus, whose flagship product is an adaptive robotic head-neck rehabilitation system. The five-member team hopes to combat global food insecurity by introducing the marama bean as mainstream crop…. Marama beans, native to the Kalahari Desert in Africa, grow in the driest conditions and require very low farming input.

They are full of protein and possess nitrogen-adding capabilities that also make it good for regenerative farming. Lombard and Higgs have created marama bean beverage shots in five delicious flavors, partnering with local farmers in Africa to source their products. The team won $15,000 for their pitch.

Founded by Julian Abhari, a senior from TU’s computer science program, alongside Dani Marques, an incoming MBA student at TU. SkinCheck is a mobile app that enables users, primary care providers, and dermatology clinics to easily scan, monitor, and evaluate moles— increasing the chances for early identification and timely treatment. This app is deeply personal to Julian, who watched his mom battle skin cancer multiple times.

Designed with inclusivity at its forefront, the team has developed the first-of-its-kind racially unbiased detection tool. This inclusivity is crucial in a field where people of color have historically been underrepresented resulting in inequitable health outcomes. My Gamer with Seth Hastings (MS ’23), Eric Peterson (BS ’21), and Corey Bolger (BS ’17), all three of whom are doctoral students in TU’s Cyber Fellows program.

My Gamer offers fans a chance to control whose perspective they watch during esports competitions. They will partner with regional and national esports events to provide an innovative service to increase viewership, strengthen engagement, and boost revenue. They received $2,500 for their pitch.

The University of Tulsa Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship (CIE) and Jolt hosted the inaugural Regent Bank Hurricane Pitch Competition on November 10, 2023 , sponsored by Regent Bank, the CCB, Jolt, and Hurricane Ventures Collins College of Business Interested in becoming a sponsor or mentor? Please email jolt@utulsa. com