CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwired - Nov 19, 2014) - Nine student teams pitched their entrepreneurial visions last night to a standing-room-only crowd at District Hall in Boston's Innovation District. When the dust settled, Downtyme from Boston University emerged victorious at the MIT Enterprise Forum (MITEF) of Cambridge's Beantown Throwdown.
Showcasing the highest number of Boston-area colleges and universities at a single student entrepreneurial business pitch competition, the contest was one of several area events being held to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week.
Downtyme made its case that its innovative social app held the most promise to satisfy an unmet need in the market -- and a room full of business executives, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and students voted with play money to pick the winner. Downtyme Founder Barron Roth will be featured at tonight's Foley Hoag 2014 MVPs of Boston Tech event.
Second place went to UMass Lowell's Nonspec for its low-cost, durable prosthetics ideally suited to developing nations. Wentworth Institute of Technology's Gentoo took third for its undergarment designed to support medical device use.
"Congratulations to Downtyme for expressing its energy, enthusiasm and vision -- and for capturing the collective imagination of the audience," said Katja Wald, Executive Director, MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge. "As last year's winner, ecoVent Systems has demonstrated through its success that winning the Beantown Throwdown is a significant vote of confidence from Boston's innovation community. Best of luck to Downtyme and all of the night's participants as you chase your dreams."
The winning teams will all receive prize packages from Beantown Throwdown sponsors Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton, CHEN PR, getfused, and Coalition Workspace that include in-kind legal and marketing services, office space, and meet-and-greet meals with innovation community executives and media.
Teams from Babson, Boston College, Berklee College of Music, Harvard University, MIT and Northeastern University also participated. Prior to the competition teams received one-on-one pitch coaching with Linda Plano of Plano & Simple.
The evening kicked off with a fireside chat about entrepreneurship moderated by Boston Globe Innovation Economy columnist Scott Kirsner and a panel of local innovation community luminaries, including Katie Rae, managing director of TechStars and founder of Project 11; Jebbit Founder and CEO Tom Coburn; and ecovent Systems Founder and CEO Dip Patel. The event concluded with a networking mixer featuring serial entrepreneur and investor Jay Batson, principal, STARTUPdj, and a favored mix master in local startup circles.
Downtyme received a custom-made trophy designed and crafted by danger!awesome that will be etched with the names of the winning team and passed to the winner of each year's competition. Additional sponsors for the Beantown Throwdown included, AutoDesk, Blade, Clypd, DataXu and HubSpot.
About The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge
Offering more than 40 programs annually, The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge strives to achieve the mission of our parent organization -- the MIT Enterprise Forum -- by showcasing emerging technologies and markets, coaching innovators and investors on how to create markets through technology and moderating and facilitating the dialogue on the risks, rewards and societal impacts of innovation.
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