Media Contact: Susan Cipollaro, scipollaro@fairfield.edu, 203-254-4000 ext. 2726

FAIRFIELD, Conn. (March 1, 2017) ­— On Thursday, April 6 , four Fairfield University student teams will pitch their businesses to investors, “Shark Tank” style , at the 2017 Fairfield StartUp Showcase at the Quick Center. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the Showcase starts at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Fairfield StartUp is a yearly program designed to foster young entrepreneurial talent at Fairfield University through engagement with mentors and investors drawn from alumni and local business communities. Students are guided through educational, networking and mentoring events designed to help them form their business models, recruit teams and mentors and attract partners needed to start their businesses.

“I’m thrilled to announce our final four teams comprised of a diverse group of students, first-year to senior, whose business plans dynamically connect technology, community and innovation,” said Dolan School Business Dean Donald Gibson, PhD. “We hope you will join the Fairfield University community for this exciting competition and celebration of entrepreneurship.”

The students will pitch their business ideas to investors who can invest directly in the companies. There is no limit on the amount of funding investors can provide.

2017 StartUp Showcase Teams include :

Africa Requests: The one-stop solution that delivers safe, secured, ensured supply chain to Ghana and other African countries — a fertile ground for counterfeit products due to lack of infrastructure and strong consumer protection laws. Africa Requests plans to improve the lives of African people one product at a time by providing an unprecedented level of security.

BTW (Bio-desalination for Tomorrow's Water): Started as a research initiative under Dr. Graeme Berlyn of the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, BTW is a nonprofit organization that seeks to bring clean, potable water to the millions of individuals who currently do not have access to this basic human right.

College Place: An online destination for college students, College Place helps students find off-campus housing by connecting them with landlords in their area, all in an effort to reduce stress, create better connections and be more efficient.

TimeKard: TimeKard is an online platform that allows universities to keep track of class attendance for athletes and to compete while following NCAA Compliance regulations. TimeKard also allows students to match their academic and social calendars with a chosen group of friends to create events like going to study, going to dinner or working out.

The showcase will also feature a bonus presentation from Blink ;a company aiming to transform the way parents and kids exchange, manage and spend money. The company is developing a mobile banking experience designed for families, where kids, primarily aged 12-18, are supplied a debit card backed by a mobile application. The end goal is to make it incredibly easy for parents and kids to exchange money, for parents to monitor their kids' spending and for children to manage their money through simple, straightforward tools.

Blink is an incorporated company actively seeking private investment. They will present their company’s business model, but will not publicly disclose any financial information that could be construed as terms for investment. Blink will be available after the Showcase to meet privately with potential investors.

SoccerGrlProbs, famous for their relatable tweets, funny YouTube videos and soccer apparel, will be welcomed back to campus as special alumni guests to talk to students about their experience and how they got started.

The co-founders are three former members of the Fairfield University Division 1 Women’s Soccer Team, Alanna Locast '12, Shannon Fay '14 and Carly Beyar '14. They started their own twitter handle in 2011 and in February of 2012, their first video was viewed over one million times in three days!

When they were students, SoccerGrlProbs worked out of the Fairfield University Entrepreneurial Lab (FUEL) , conveniently located off campus on the Post Rd. in downtown Fairfield. The space serves as a business accelerator and entrepreneurial lab to help customers develop business models. They received advice regarding concept design and development, technology, operational support and networking. Since then they have achieved great success and have been recognized for their social sustainability mission; to support and encourage the well-being and positive self-image of young female athletes everywhere through social media and apparel products.

RSVP for the StartUp Showcase on Thursday, April 6 at:

https://www.fairfield.edu/startup/

WSHU Public Radio is the official media sponsor of the Fairfield StartUp Showcase.

Posted On: 03-13-2017 03:03 PM

Volume: 49 Number: 136

Fairfield University is a Jesuit University, rooted in one of the world’s oldest intellectual and spiritual traditions. More than 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students from 36 states, 47 foreign countries, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico are enrolled in the University’s five schools.  In the spirit of rigorous and sympathetic inquiry into all dimensions of human experience, Fairfield welcomes students from diverse backgrounds to share ideas and engage in open conversations. The University is located in the heart of a region where the future takes shape, on a stunning campus on the Connecticut coast just an hour from New York City.