{"id":197064,"date":"2024-05-07T15:18:10","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T01:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=197064"},"modified":"2024-05-07T15:18:10","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T01:18:10","slug":"omnivocab-wins-2024-venture-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2024\/05\/07\/omnivocab-wins-2024-venture-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Language education startup wins 2024 UH<\/abbr> Venture Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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OmniVocab won the 2024 UH<\/abbr> Venture Competition. (Photo credit: Paula Ota)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A startup company helping learners master different languages won the 2024 University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Venture Competition<\/a> (UHVC<\/abbr>) and a prize package totaling approximately $50,000.<\/p>\n

What began with more than 40 teams at the start of the competition, OmniVocab bested three other teams in the event finals on May 4 to claim the title. The company aims to help intermediate language learners overcome obstacles in acquiring a new language through immersive experiences.<\/p>\n

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For the first time, the UH<\/abbr> Venture Competition was held in the Walter Dods, Jr<\/abbr>. RISE<\/abbr> Center. (Photo credit: Paula Ota)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The team included UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa students Ryan Beattie (mechanical engineering), Josiah Kila (information and computer science), Kaihehau Goo (management), Sage Suzuki (computer science) and Noah deMers (computer science). They were coached by Shidler College of Business<\/a> marketing lecturer Patricia LaPorte.<\/p>\n

“What previously was a last-minute submission soon became a worthy competitor amongst many worthy teams,” DeMers said. “If we\u2019ve learned one thing from this, it is to never underestimate what you have to offer compared to others and to always tunnel through any uncertainty. As the movie Coach Carter puts it, ‘As we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.’”<\/p>\n

The first place prize included $10,000 from Hawaiian Electric Industries and Hawaiian Electric, 20 hours of marketing consultation by Pineapple Tweed ($5,000 value), rapid prototype development or data driven digital marketing package from Blue Logic Labs ($4,000 value), one year of unlimited coworking membership to The Hub Coworking Hawaii ($19,500 value), incorporation package and financing term sheet sponsored by Vantage Counsel LLC<\/abbr> ($7,500 value), and other in-kind prizes.<\/p>\n

UHVC<\/abbr> is hosted annually by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship<\/a> (PACE<\/abbr>) in UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s Shidler College of Business to support budding entrepreneurs by providing hands-on education, mentorship and resources to students from the 10-campus UH<\/abbr> System who wish to start a new business. This year, excitement soared as the event took place within the vibrant, newly inaugurated live-learn-work student housing community—Walter Dods, Jr<\/abbr>. RISE<\/abbr> Center<\/a>—marking a momentous milestone in the competition\u2019s history. With student team representation from UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa, UH<\/abbr> Hilo, and Kapiʻolani<\/span> Community College, encompassing more than 20 diverse majors from tropical plant and soil sciences to computer science, the competition showcased the innovative spirit thriving across the UH<\/abbr> System.<\/p>\n

Finalists<\/h2>\n
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EduKits Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> won second place in the 2024 UH<\/abbr> Venture Competition. (Photo credit: Paula Ota)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Placing second was EduKits Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, a nonprofit organization that creates and distributes placed-based STEAM<\/abbr> resource kits to Title I school students. Its goal is to enrich classroom learning and increase parent involvement through fun hands-on activities based on STEAM<\/abbr> lessons that align with Next Generation Science Standards and Na Hopena Aʻo<\/span> framework. The team members were Candide Krieger (curriculum studies) and Samantha Alvarado (tropical plant and soil sciences), and their coach was Susan Yamada, PACE<\/abbr> Board of Directors chair. The second place prize included $5,000 from PACE<\/abbr> and more than $40,000 in in-kind prizes.<\/p>\n