The ‘Be Your Own Boss’ Bowl has encouraged Temple students to explore careers in entrepreneurship since it began in 1998.
Finalists participating in the event competed for cash prizes totaling $200,000. Students pitched their companies to a panel of judges who determined winners for four different categories, including “Undergraduate Track,” “Upper Track,” “Social Impact Track,” and “Grand Prize.”
Startup ideas ran the gamut from HemaSense, a medical software, to Seeds Job Fair, an app that helps international students find jobs in the U.S. and in their home countries. Temple senior Justin Asaraf believes the event gives young professionals the opportunity to sharpen their critical thinking skills.
“Being able to make your own rules and really, effectively, solve a problem … it’s really what life is about for me,” he says.
During the judges’ deliberations, audience members and contestants were treated to an address from keynote speaker Steve Charles. Charles, himself a Temple alum, also answered questions from prospective business leaders.
But the day’s most exciting moment arrived when the grand prize and individual category winners were finally revealed. UniFi, led by Jessica Rothstein, won the grand prize, taking home a total of $60,000.
While Rothstein and her team look forward to celebrating their victory, she admits they’re eager to return to work. “It’s time to get back out there and start building the business,” she says. “We launch brand strategy and then at the end of the month, we’ve got to finish out our scheduled pilots and really get out there into the market, and finish out that development.”
Winners of the remaining categories were awarded $20,000 respectively.
For more information on the ‘Be Your Own Boss’ Bowl, visit fox.temple.edu.
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