Last night, 500+ innovators from Boston University and beyond gathered at Innovator’s Night to connect, celebrate, and find out who won the 2025 New Venture Competition!
The awards didn’t stop at the New Venture Competition, however. From Students Innovators of the Year, to incredible mentors, to the cohorts of Innovate@BU’s selective summer programs, entrepreneurs from all corners of BU were awarded on stage.
Kicking things off on the main floor, student organizations tabled while caricature artists sketched out some incredible portraits of attendees. Rhett the terrier made an appearance, and the BU Pep band kept everyone in the spirit while some top-tier networking took place.
Once the program began, the fabulous student emcees Riya Shukla and Remi Chester introduced President Gilliam, who spoke about the importance of innovation and the numerous impacts of student innovation on the BU community.
So who won?
Let’s take a moment to recognize and celebrate the winners of the New Venture Competition!
New Venture Competition General Track Winners
$20,000 First Place Prize: Epoch Labs
Betty Zhao (Questrom’25) and Farida Abdelmoneum are the founders of Epoch Labs, an AI tennis analytics platform utilizing a single-camera solution to provide real-time feedback, injury prevention, insights, and more.
$10,000 Second Place Prize: BrightBook
Tommy Ross (Questrom’24) is the founder of BrightBook, an AI powered platform alleviating educator burnout by enabling teachers to create customizable, standards-aligned, lesson plans in less than a minute.
$6,000 Third Place Prize: Agrinova
Meritxell Ortodo (ENG’26) and Trinity Olander (CAS’26) are the founders of Agrinova, a portable device using microbial biosensors to detect bioavailable heavy metals in soils and plants, providing real-time data for safer and more sustainable farming practices. Meritxell and Trinity delivered an incredible pitch that secured them the additional Audience Choice Award of $500.
New Venture Competition Social Impact Track Winners:
$20,000 First Place Prize: Idori
Noah Sorin (Questrom’24) is the founder of Idori (I Dream of Real Impact), a creator of sustainable learning experiences for children through eco-friendly plush toys, storybooks, and hands-on activities that instill environmental awareness at an early age.
$10,000 Second Place Prize: Culinary Commons
Andrea Catania (MET’24) and Mark Araujo are the founders behind Culinary Commons, an initiative establishing public kitchens as community infrastructure to foster food justice and social cohesion in urban areas.
$6,000 Third Place Prize: Udayaa
Tanya Shizan (Questrom’26) is the founder of Udayaa, a student-first, crowdfunding platform supporting high school social entrepreneurs in India with tailored campaign tools, mentorship, and more. Tanya’s pitch also won the audience choice award of $500,!
Outstanding Student Innovator Awards
Nominated by their respective organizations, these students stand out in their communities as innovators and drivers of change.
Ben Gardiner: BU Spark!
Ben Gardiner (CAS’25) is a data science and finance senior who created Talentora through BU Spark! Talentora is an AI-powered platform that conducts candidate interviews to streamline the hiring process for companies facing overwhelming application volumes.
Luca Pungan: Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program
Luca Pungan (ENG’25) is a biomedical engineering senior working in Dr. Miguel Jimenez’s eL Microbial Integration Group. Luca is developing biosensors for at-home testing of fertility hormones that aim to increase accessibility to reproductive healthcare monitoring.
Jiayou “Leon” Lin: School of Hospitality Administration
Leon Lin (SHA’24) is the founder of Behold Juice and the winner of the 2025 $50k Hospitality Innovation Competition. Leon has developed a 100% natural citrus juice replacement that eliminates kitchen waste while offering the same taste and function as fresh juice.
Prianna Sharan: Innovate@BU
Prianna Sharan (CAS’25) is the Co-Founder and CTO of Popple, an AI-Powered social platform connecting college students for in-person events that now serves 5,000 users across Boston. With her Co-Founder, Remi Chester (Questrom’25), she has taken Popple through Innovate@BU’s Innovation Pathway program, the prestigious MassChallenge accelerator, and the National level of the Hult Prize Competition in Lisbon.
Innovation Leadership Awards
These outstanding faculty members and mentors made a lasting impact on the Innovate@BU community, and continuously inspire and uplift student entrepreneurs with their expertise.
Ian Mashiter: Special Recognition
After 15 years, one of Innovate@BU’s most impactful mentors is retiring at the end of this academic year. Ian Mashiter serves as the Director of Curriculum and is a Master Lecturer in Strategy and Innovation at the Questrom School of Business. It goes without saying that Ian has left his mark on Innovate@BU’s programs and made an impact on student innovators across BU. We’ll miss you Ian!
Peter Marton: Henry Morgan Award
The Henry Morgan award is given to a faculty member or prominent alumni for advancing innovation at BU. Named after Henry Morgan, former School of Management Dean who supported working mothers through daycare and training, advised Ben & Jerry’s, and endowed Questrom’s Entrepreneurship Program. This year’s recipient is Peter Marton, Director of Entrepreneurship Partnerships and lecturer in Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Questrom School of Business.
Rhoda Serafin: Mentor of the Year
This award recognizes an exceptional mentor who has demonstrated commitment to BU’s students and innovation ecosystem by participating in an array of volunteer events, coaching students, and expanding the Innovate@BU community. This year’s recipient is Rhoda Serafin, who has dedicated more than 130 hours this year to mentoring student innovators and contributing her expertise to the community.
Join us at our next big event, IDEA Con 2025!
If you missed out on Innovator’s Night, don’t worry. You can still join us on October 25th at IDEA Con! This cross- college innovation extravaganza is the perfect opportunity to meet movers and shakers from schools all across the Northeast, get inspired by fabulous speakers, and attend workshops that will help you build the skills you need to succeed – no matter your career goals.
