The three finalists in the 2020-2021 WiSys APPStart Challenge, a contest that connects great mobile app ideas with the expertise and resources necessary for commercial launch, are:

• UW-La Crosse Associate Professor Patrick Grabowski.
• UW-Stout alum Emerson Kovacs.
• The team of UW-Eau Claire students Sam Fitzhenry, Max Bossert, Logan Ickert and UW-Madison student Nicholas Hersperger.

Finalists will receive initial app development support and business mentorship over the course of five months from WiSys partners. The winner will receive a prize package totaling over $10,000 in cash and services to assist in launching the app as a business. The runners up will also be eligible for cash prizes.

The challenge opened to faculty, staff, students and alumni from WiSys schools (UW-Eau Claire, UW-Green Bay, UW-La Crosse, UW Oshkosh, UW-Parkside, UW-Platteville, UW-River Falls, UW-Stevens Point, UW-Stout, UW-Superior and UW-Whitewater) in October.

Seventy-three entries, with representation from each of the 11 UW System regional universities, were submitted. A panel of 14 reviewers selected 25 of the most novel and scalable ideas to be further pitched to a panel of judges that included corporate executives, entrepreneurs and investors. The judges ranked the three finalists the highest based on the significance of the problem they are addressing and the participants’ vision for how their app can solve the problem.

Judges also recognized seven other ideas of merit after the app pitches, including those presented by:

• UW-Stevens Point alum Fue Moua.
• The team of UW-Parkside student Gabrielle Richardson and UW-Parkside faculty members Zaid Altahat and Robert Barber.
• UW-Eau Claire faculty member Marcy Orwig.
• UW-Green Bay faculty member Brian Welsch.
• UW-Whitewater faculty member David Havas.
• UW-Eau Claire student Killian Griffin.
• UW Oshkosh alum Robert Harter.

These seven presenters, and the three finalists, received $100 prizes for placing in the top ten in the semifinal round. All participants in the program were also provided the opportunity to tap into the WiSys VentureHome network of statewide resources to continue developing their ideas.

To learn more about the WiSys APPStart Challenge, visit wisys.org/appstart.

WiSys is a nonprofit organization that works with faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the UW System to facilitate cutting-edge research programs, develop and commercialize discoveries and foster a spirit of innovative and entrepreneurial thinking across the state.