Since his freshman year, Winston DeMartini ’20 has been passionate about entrepreneurship and has worked to develop a business idea to pitch at the annual Fairfield StartUp Showcase. This year, the senior has been selected as one of five teams to pitch a business plan to investors for seed money to start their business. This year’s StartUp Showcase will take place entirely online through video conferencing. Fairfield invites the public to watch the excitement through an online video series that will be released on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 at fairfield.edu/startup.

DeMartini will debut Hustlin’, a smart shirt and weight app designed for physical therapists and their clients. Hustlin' uses sensor-based smart weights and smart shirts to assist users with their form and overall workout. DeMartini first designed a gamified version of the app, applying elements of game play such as point scoring and competition with others, to make working out fun. He then pivoted to using interactive, data-driven 3D models to focus on workout form to prevent injury. From there he conducted consumer research by testing his prototype with physical therapist offices in the Fairfield community, where he gained valuable feedback and insights.  

“I developed the prototype for Husltin’ by working with Spencer Letizia '20 who is a computer science major,” said DeMartini. “My app uses sensors embedded in shirts to track 3D movement to monitor muscle engagement and force.”

This past summer DeMartini saw a post on Instagram about website user experience (UX) and user experience design (UED), and took the summer to teach himself about the fundamentals and techniques. He quickly got the hang of it and started taking on freelance work for family friends and companies near his hometown of Greenvale, N.Y.

DeMartini is a marketing and management double major with concentrations in integrated marketing communications and entrepreneurship. A self-proclaimed workout enthusiast, DeMartini explained that he works out every day, and when on campus, is the first one at the gym. Hustlin’ combines all of his interests and passions, and DeMartini is excited to make his pitch to investors.

“The StartUp Showcase means a lot to me,” he said. “I’ve been at it for three years, pitching different ideas with the goal of being selected to advance from the qualifier round to the Showcase. I’ve pulled all-nighters working on Hustlin’ because I’m that determined to do well.”

Save the date: Wednesday, April 29 to watch the 2020 Fairfield StartUp Showcase video series, as Winston DeMartini ’20 and the other Showcase competitors make their pitches to investors. Vote for the audience favorite at fairfield.edu/startup.