Jacksonville University business student Liam Wheeler won first place and a $2,500 prize in the 2024 Dolphin Pitch competition April 3 at the Davis College of Business & Technology.
Wheeler’s winning idea was Huntopia, an app to help hunters connect with landowners looking to rent their properties, JU said in a news release.
The $1,000 first-runner-up prize went to Elizabeth Hunt, Terry Dean and Ann Heusinger for their bone-conduction stethoscope idea that would allow health care providers to better care for patients.
Second-runners-up Evan Dromgoole, Christian Sekanina, Mona Freeman and Alex Orozco received $1,000 for their winning idea called FinBot, an AI chatbot that would guide users in their personal financial goals.
Kayla Putzke and Varvara Kovalevich won the $500 fan favorite prize for their Million Dollar Musician idea.
Introduced in 2019, Dolphin Pitch is an annual contest for any JU student, faculty or staff member to explore their entrepreneurial spirit by creating new ideas or redesigning existing products and services.
The competition combines the formats of reality television shows “The Voice” and “Shark Tank” to create an experience for participants to present their business plans to a panel of judges looking for creativity, well-thought-out plans and the will to strive for excellence, the release said.