DECEMBER 2, 2021 — It’s down to the final six teams for UTSA’s annual Big Rowdy Idea competition, taking place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. today on the fifth floor of the North Paseo Building.
The contest is an opportunity for budding entrepreneurs to pitch and then develop a great idea as a potential commercial venture.
Ten teams entered the first round of competition on October 28. Five teams are typically selected to advance. Randolph Quinn, executive director of the UTSA Student Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SIE) Program, said due to the quality of the entries as decided by the first-round judges, an additional sixth finalist was added for this year’s event.
“The first-round pitches of the Big Rowdy Idea competition were a sterling example of entrepreneurial tenacity and motivation. I would like to thank everyone for supporting our students and their entrepreneurial activity,” Quinn said. “Our participants are an inspiring example of entrepreneurial endurance. I wish all of them the best in their future endeavors.”
The competition is open to UTSA students from any grade level or major. Formerly presented by the Center for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship (CITE), Big Rowdy Idea is now sponsored by SIE to encourage and support more students across all UTSA colleges with entrepreneurial interests.
“Part of my mission is to expand the entrepreneurship mindset to all the colleges within UTSA,” Quinn said. “Engineering students have a legacy of competing in the Big Rowdy Idea. But this year, we have two teams from the UTSA College of Sciences, and one of those teams is made up of two freshmen and a junior, so we are making strides to expand involvement.”
One hurdle students don’t have to overcome in the competition is developing and submitting a prototype device. It’s all about that impactful concept, an ability to make a compelling pitch, and putting together a logical business plan.
Connor Gallagher-Moore and Randy Klepetko made it to the final round with Team HelioSucrose. Their concept is to develop a turn-key solution for electric vehicle charging stations that soon could be as common as gas stations.
“We've identified that by 2030, there's going to be about 21 million electric vehicles on the road and that's going to add about two terawatts of new electrical demand,” Gallagher-Moore said. “Charging infrastructure will be needed. Likewise, it needs to be something renewable. Our idea is a fully integrated system where it's prefabricated off site, shipped and assembled on site. You’ll have an all-in-one EV charging station with solar panels and your battery system.”
The other finalist teams include: RDR Recycling, Prestige Worldwide, SleepSound Therapeutics, T4 Movement and First Watch.
Quinn is inviting members from the business community, many of whom are entrepreneurs themselves, to judge the final presentations. Students have seven minutes for the pitch and three minutes for questions from the judges. Each team also submitted a formal business case which will be evaluated and factored into determining the winners.
Big Rowdy Idea winners can develop prototypes of their concept and enter the $100K Student Technology Venture Competition taking place during the spring 2022 semester.
UTSA Today is produced by University Communications and Marketing, the official news source of The University of Texas at San Antonio. Send your feedback to news@utsa.edu. Keep up-to-date on UTSA news by visiting UTSA Today. Connect with UTSA online at Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Instagram.
Are you interested in learning more about incorporating digital methods into your research? This workshop will introduce you to approaches and tools that can help support your research. Through hands-on activities, you will learn about text analysis and digital mapping and how these methods can enrich your projects.
Group Spot B, 2.01.22, John Peace LibraryLearn to use the simple but powerful features of EndNote®, a citation management tool. In this hands-on workshop, participants will learn to setup an EndNote library, save references and PDFs, and automatically create and edit a bibliography.
Virtual EventAproduction of the Gudalupe Cultural Arts Center, Rio Bravo showcases the vibrant music and dance traditions of the Texas-Mexico border region. Featuring the Guadalupe Dance Company and Mariachi Azteca de América, the performances will be filmed live both nights, courtesy of UTSA's College of Liberal and Fine Arts.
UTSA Downtown CampusCheer on our Roadrunners as they face Houston Christian University. Featuring a special halftime show with Ballet Folklórico Sol de San Antonio and Mariachi Los Paisanos performing with the Spirit of San Antonio Marching Band.
AlamodomePubMed is an essential database for anyone conducting biomedical or health-related research. This workshop will teach attendees how to navigate this free resource effectively and locate peer-reviewed articles using basic & advanced search features, MeSH subject headings, and Boolean operators.
Virtual EventIn this workshop, we will review the basic concept of metadata and how it can influence digital projects, particularly those that include images like exhibits and mapping. Through the lens of preserving cultural heritage, you will learn about some of the more popular types of metadata schema and participate in a hands-on Dublin Core cataloging exercise.
CEDISH Co-Lab 3.02.38, 3rd Floor, John Peace LibraryMariachi Los Paisanos & Mariachi Juviniles will perform. Free and open to the public.
UTSA Recital HallThe University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.
To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.
UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .
The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.