Spark Venture Competition 2023: Celebrating Innovation and Triumph

Entrepreneurial spirit and innovation continue to reverberate as the 5th Annual Spark Venture Competition announces its triumphant winners. Hosted by the Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sac State and presented by Western Health Advantage, the competition took center stage during Global Entrepreneurship Week 2023. With $20,000 in cash awards up for grabs, participants faced high stakes, and they certainly lived up to the challenge.

And the Winners are….

For-Profit Ventures

Agrinerds – Cultivating Success

Maurice Pitesky’s Agrinerds clinched the first-place prize of $7,500 in the for-profit category. Comprising veterinarians, engineers, and researchers, AgriNerds specializes in SaaS-based tools for agriculture. Their pioneering product, the WaterFowl Alert Network, offers historic, daily, and forecasted waterfowl location predictions. Judges and spectators alike praised AgriNerds for their dedication to sustainable and data-driven solutions.

Rely – Real Estate Reinvented

Rely, co-founded by Heather Rankow and Ashley Keyes, secured the second-place prize of $2,500 in the for-profit sector. A peer-to-peer real estate marketplace, Rely facilitates seamless connections between renters and landlords. Their innovative approach to real estate garnered well-deserved recognition and applause.

Social Ventures

Inspirame – Inspiring Futures

Maria Medrano’s Inspirame claimed the first-place prize of $7,500 in the social ventures category. Dedicated to building the college-to-career pipeline for vulnerable populations, Inspirame’s mission resonated strongly with the judges. Their commitment to creating opportunities for underserved communities stood out as a shining example of the positive impact social entrepreneurship can achieve.

Strived.io – Augmenting Education

Securing the second-place prize of $2,500 in the social ventures sector was Shweta Gandhi’s Strived.io. The venture harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to augment teacher decision-making, demonstrating the transformative potential of technology in education. The judges were impressed by the innovative use of AI to enhance learning outcomes.

Who Were the Judges?

The competition owes its success in no small part to the distinguished panel of judges who brought their expertise to the table:

Their keen insights and discerning evaluations played a pivotal role in selecting the winners, contributing to the overall success of the Spark Venture Competition.

A Look Ahead

The Spark Venture Competition not only celebrated the winners but also highlighted the resilience, creativity, and dedication of all the participating ventures. As we reflect on this event, it becomes clear that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the Greater Sacramento Region.

Congratulations to Agrinerds, Rely, Inspirame, and Strived.io for their well-deserved victories. Looking forward to the impact these ventures will have on their respective industries, it’s evident that the spark of innovation will continue to illuminate the path to a brighter future. The Carlsen Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Sac State, Western Health Advantage, and all involved can take pride in nurturing a thriving ecosystem of innovation in the heart of Sacramento. Here’s to the continued success of the Spark Venture Competition and the inspiring ventures it continues to showcase.

If you missed the competition and would like to view it on demand, you can find the video on the Carlsen Center’s LinkedIn page.

To see a list of all the finalists, check out this StartupSac blog post, Spark Venture Competition: Meet the Finalists.