New ventures in AI
The student winners and judges of the 2024 New Venture Pitch Competition
Leveraging the power of AI was central to all three winning business ideas in the 2024 New Venture Pitch Competition hosted by the Quinlan School of Business.
The third-annual competition invited Loyola students to pitch their ideas for creative businesses.
"The New Venture Pitch Competition showcases our students' incredible creativity and determination, celebrating their drive to solve real-world problems and lead with purpose," says April Lane Schuster, Quinlan's director of entrepreneurial initiatives and senior lecturer. "The competition is a great way to let the entrepreneurial spirit thrive at Quinlan."
Together, the student winners received $6,000 in scholarship support and will receive mentoring from Ignite Lab, a startup incubator housed in the business school.
The students successfully navigated the two-round competition, which included a video pitch and then a live pitch by selected finalists. The first round was judged by 15 staff, faculty, and alumni. The second round was judged by Associate Professor Ugur Uygur and Inspire11 Co-Founder and President Hans Nelson.
Read more about the winning business ideas below.
First place: PiVOTE, Olivia Scott
Olivia Scott (BBA ’25) took first place for her pitch of PiVOTE, which would use generative AI to help guide and inform voters in U.S. elections. According to Scott, PiVOTE would present users with a value quiz, the results of which would be compared alongside political candidates' historical actions, statements, and stances. In doing so, PiVOTE aims to bridge the gap in political discourse and promote engaged and educated voting, regardless of political values.
Second place: Jawahar Education, Eman Aldajah
Taking second prize is Eman Aldajah (BBA ’25) and her business Jawahar Education. Aldajah is the founder and CEO of Jawahar Education, which uses cognitive science and AI to help high school and university students in the United Arab Emirates find compatible tutors. AI is used by Jawahar Education to create personalized quizzes, craft practice problems, measure student performance, and generate reports based on student progress.
Third place: Biased, Chase Amarosa and Olivia Mathew
In third place are Chase Amarosa (BBA ’25) and Olivia Mathew (BBA ’26) with Biased, a proposed job board to help students find relevant, entry-level positions. Biased attempts to remedy over-saturated job boards by using AI to create personalized job recommendations based on a user’s profile. In addition to suggested jobs, the board would also provide AI insights into applying for a given position, including key phrases for cover letters and interview questions.