Editor’s note: This story has been revised from an earlier version to correct information originally provided by LSU about the names of the winning teams and their pitches.
A group of LSU students who came up with a design for a fashionable bracelet that doubles as an emergency alert system to protect women from assault took top honors at Startup Weekend Baton Rouge, which concluded Sunday night at LSU.
Trouble Circlet, as the winning concept is called, builds on an emergency alert bracelet already on the market that enables wearers in an emergency situation to press a button that sends out a GPS signal and an alert to law enforcement and the users’ family and friends.
Trouble Circlet is more fashionable than the existing bracelet on the market, however, and would be a piece of jewelry women want to wear, says Ed Watson, chair of the Stephenson Department of Entrepreneurship and Information Systems, which hosted Startup Weekend Baton Rouge.
Unlike the LSU Student Incubator Venture Challenge, an annual student pitch competition with a $25,000 prize, Startup Weekend is more of a learning experience for student entrepreneurs. Students came together over the course of three days, formed groups and worked on their ideas, refining them as the weekend progressed. After two days, they held a pitch competition Sunday evening judged by six members of the local business community.
The winning team was given an opportunity to enter the LSU Innovation Park Student Incubator and also to take an investment readiness course through NEXUS LA. Each member of the Trouble Circlet team also received a $50 gift card and was encouraged to take a venture capitalist to lunch to learn more about how to advance their business ideas, Watson says.
Nearly 90 students participated in Startup Weekend, which is an international program, including two dozen German exchange students on Fulbright Scholarships with LSU engineering. Nearly half the winning team was made up of the German engineering students.
Given the strong showing in the contest from engineering students, Watson says his department will market the weekend more broadly next year to encourage greater participation from other disciplines across the campus.
The second place team designed an app, Bartndr, that makes it easier to place drinks and pick them up at bars.
The third place team, Rukus Outdoor, pitched an idea about gear rentals and trip planning for camping trips.
