Olivia Burrough and Jonathan Duron placed first in their respective categories at the Fall Startup Pitch Finale Tuesday hosted by the Iowa State Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship at the Student Innovation Center launch pad. The finale was the second round of the startup pitch series, and the participants were all top 3 presenters in the first round. 

Each participant had 90 seconds to present their business idea in either the “new idea” or “existing business” categories followed by 2 minutes of Q&A by judges. 

Burrough, a junior in accounting, said she got the idea when she noticed that the lake her family goes to had become overrun with harmful algae fields. 

“Algae can have serious health effects, causing skin irritation, vomiting and even seizures for people and animals,” Burrough explained in her pitch. “I’ve seen the health effects firsthand.”

After noticing the issue, Burrough became interested in solving the problem. 

“I started researching, what was that algae? What can it do?” Burrough said.

These questions led to Burrough’s idea: harvest the algae and combine it with potash to create a fertilizer that improves soil fertility and reduces erosion. 

“Not only does this help clean up Iowa lakes, but it also provides farmers with an eco-friendly fertilizer supplement,” Burrough said. 

The idea has significant market potential. Burrough explained in her pitch that fertilizer sales in Iowa alone generate up to $2.8 billion per year. Plus, lake users benefit from increased water quality for their families and animals.

Burrough’s idea won first place in the “new idea” category and received a $3,000 award.

Duron, a senior in software engineering, entered in the “existing business” category with TagLink. The idea stemmed from a mechanic’s frustration with locating repair orders. 

“He was like, ‘Hey, John, my mechanics keep calling me. They’re bothering me. They keep asking for the repair order they left me for this vehicle so I can fix it.’” Duron said. “And he asked me if there’s anything that can help him fix that problem.”

Duron started brainstorming and realized there was nothing already on the market that could fix this problem, so he took things into his own hands. 

“I started seeing how I could solve this guy’s problems with QR codes, six-digit input, whatever it was,” Duron explained.

Finally, he landed on the idea of using near-field communication (NFC) technology. The little tags, about the size of a quarter, are programmed with data that can be easily retrieved. In his pitch, Duron showed how the tags can be scanned using the TagLink app. 

“I simply pull up my cellular device, I tap the tag, and then, as you can see, it links to a profile with all the relevant information I need to know as the mechanic,” Duron said. 

According to Duron, the application, available for both iOS and Android users, is a simple solution that saves time, receives data accurately, and safely uploads data to a cloud. 

Duron’s business idea won first place in the “existing business” category, and he was awarded $3,000. 

Caleb Frostestad, a sophomore in agricultural studies, won a $500 honorable mention award for his idea about noticing the issue of newborn beef calves dying within the first 24 hours of life. 

“The loss is equivalent to $2.1 billion of lost revenue, which, to break that down, is twice of last year’s beef revenue in Wyoming,” Frostestad explained in his pitch.

The primary cause of these deaths is starvation, due to little to no milk intake. Frostestad’s solution is UdderX, a pair of wireless pressure sensors that monitor birth, suckling and milk intake, alerting cattle ranchers via a mobile app. 

While Frostestad’s plans for UdderX are still in the works, his next step is to do customer surveys and industry analysis.

 “I want to do that analysis to figure out the exact, specific, needs that this product is something customers want,” Frostestad said.

Frostestad found out about the pitch event through Changemaker Academy and attended a business pitch workshop to prepare. He advises anyone looking to participate in the future to get involved. 

“It’s not as intimidating as it seems and it’s a great experience to get feedback, no matter what your idea is or what stage in the process you are at,” Frostestad said. 

Find more information about competitions hosted by the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship on their website.