DisrupTexas 2019 Undergraduate Pitch Competition Recap
Undergraduate teams competed in DisrupTexas, the fourth annual “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition sponsored by the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship at the McCombs School of Business, on Saturday, November 16th.
DisrupTexas is the highest-value pitch competition for Texas-based undergraduate students. In addition to a monetary prize, the contest awards software credits from Amazon Web Services worth $5,000 for each student who made it to the final round. The competition aims to serve as a launch pad for budding student entrepreneurs, and foster excitement and engagement around entrepreneurship on campus and in the Texas Startup Ecosystem.
UT Senior Rajya Atluri came in first place taking $10,000 in prize money representing Swayy, co-founded with fellow senior Clio Harralson. Swayy is an online peer-to-peer clothing lending service, providing members clothing that is “new-to-you” and a green alternative to fast-fashion. Atluri and Harralson hope to utilize the idea of a “shared closet” to help women everywhere feel confident and empowered.
The second place prize of $5,000 went to Pocket Punch, founded by a group of five female students here at UT. Pocket Punch is a multifunctional, all-in-one self defense device, that includes knuckles, pepper spray, an alarm, and a flashlight. The group hopes their device can be utilized for campus safety here at UT, and beyond.
Other winners and awards:
● 3rd place, Plexus Technology, UT Austin, $2,000
● 4th place, Picko, UT Austin, $1,000
Out of over 100 applications, 16 undergraduate finalist teams from three Texas universities and one California university presented their 10-minute pitches to a panel of expert judges and 60 members of the startup community, receiving professional feedback and mentorship in the Texas Startup Ecosystem.
