Vascugenix, a medical-device company representing the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, won the undergraduate division in the 2019 Delta Plastics Arkansas Governor's Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition on Thursday.
A total of $154,000 was awarded to student-led teams in graduate and undergraduate divisions in the annual competition. Vascugenix was awarded $25,000.
The most important member of the Vascugenix leadership team was unable to attend the awards luncheon held in the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center.
Dr. Dwight Chrisman, a cardiologist with Arkansas Cardiology and Baptist Health in Little Rock, was in a satellite office seeing patients. Chrisman is the inventor of Vascugenix's flagship product, the Speed-Torque.
"We have a device that helps surgeons perform minimally invasive heart surgery faster and safer," said Noah Asher, a member of Vascugenix's leadership team. "It is a torque device and is used in guide wire manipulation."
Winning the graduate category was FinTruth from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. FinTruth has developed software to help businesses identify potential fraud.
Finishing second and winning $15,000 in the undergraduate division was Xtendon from Harding University. The third-place finisher, winning $10,000, was Bone Dri from Ouachita Baptist University.
Finishing second and winning $15,000 in the graduate category was Screenbux from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. The third-place finisher in the graduate division, winning $10,000, was Corrosense from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.
Other finalists in the undergraduate competition were hDrop from Harding University, Immunovate from Ouachita Baptist University and Pedagogue from the Arkansas School for Math, Sciences and the Arts.
Other finalists in the graduate competition were Cumulus Burn from Arkansas State University and Shiny Teeth from Henderson State University.
The division winners of the 90-second pitch contest and its $2,000 prize were Bone Dri and Corrosense.
Business on 04/12/2019
CORRECTION: Bone Dri from Ouachita Baptist University won the elevator pitch contest in the undergraduate division of the Arkansas Governor’s Cup competition last week. An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the winner.