We hit 27 years of the Dempsey Startup Competition this year! For those who are unfamiliar, Dempsey Startup is an annual competition that allows university teams to pitch their startup ideas to panels of experienced judges. The Buerk Centre for Entrepreneurship hosts the competition, ensuring it runs without a hitch. The hard work of organizing and running the competition is all credited to Yuko Oaku, Amy Sallin and their incredible teams.
A record 136 teams applied to the Dempsey Startup Competition this year, narrowed down to 37 for the Investment Round. Next, more than 230 judges selected the 16 teams that would continue to the Sweet Sixteen round. From these, the Final Four were chosen. I was thrilled to be a judge for this final round.
Teams are evaluated based on:
Without further ado, here are the 2024 winning teams and their incredible ideas!
The BioLegacy team joined us from Seattle University, bringing a competition-winning, life-saving idea. On the BioLegacy team are Vincent Rettinger, Simon Sharples, Karin Stoddart and Dr. Shen Ren. Their backgrounds are diverse, ranging from finance to chemistry to mechanical engineering.
BioLegacy’s innovation utilizes Single-Mode Electromagnetic Resonance (SMER), a technology that extends organ transplant viability and biological functions from 24 hours to months! This has huge potential to save lives and revolutionize organ transplant access.
BioLegacy has already had some exciting wins, including the grand prize at the Hollomon Health Innovation Challenge and second place at the 2024 Baylor New Venture Competition. At Dempsey Startup, they took home the $25,000 Herbert B. Jones Foundation Grand Prize.
I’ll be keeping an eye out for their life-saving technology in the future!
The MoodRoom team gathered from the University of Washington, Seattle University, University of San Diego and New York University. They utilized their backgrounds in computer science, finance, political science, electrical and computer engineering, and visual communication design to develop an accessible online dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) program that emphasizes and addresses mental health through game design.
MoodRoom was developed in response to the national crisis surrounding youth mental health, providing young people with tools to combat suicidal ideation, mood and cognitive disorders, negative thought patterns, substance abuse and self-harm. This team took home the $15,000 BECU second-place prize.
The Joy Bucket team came from the University of Washington’s MBA and M.S. computer science programs, working together to create a health technology that addresses rising maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States. The affordable, wearable device continuously monitors maternal and fetal health, utilizing artificial intelligence and algorithms to keep pregnant women informed. Joy Bucket won the $10,000 WRF Capital third-place prize.
The CivicImpact.ai team joined forces in the UW Foster School of Business Executive MBA program, bringing to life an AI-based technology that rethinks cities’ procurement processes.
The goal of this team’s technology is to create more business opportunities, increase market competition and improve the quality of goods and services provided to citizens.
In addition to the $7,500 Friends of the Dempsey Startup fourth-place prize, CivicImpact.ai won the $2,500 Saara Romu Community Impact Prize which awards a venture that impacts women or other under-served communities.
Beyond the top four, eight other Best Idea and Big Picture prizes were awarded. Find more details about them in this UW release.
I’d like to give a shoutout to every team that stepped up to the plate this year! Whether or not you took home a prize, you all won the opportunity to receive feedback from experts in the Venture Capital world and refine your idea for next time. It takes courage and dedication to enter a competition like this and you all deserve to celebrate.
I’m excited to see some of these companies come to fruition and change the world.
