RIT students take the plunge into the Tiger Tank

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Five teams of student entrepreneurs at Rochester Institute of Technology will pitch their business ideas to a panel of Rochester-area investors on April 5 in hopes of launching their products or businesses.

RIT’s Tiger Tank competition will be held at 6 p.m. April 5 in Student Innovation Hall. The five student teams—selected from more than 60 who submitted proposals—will compete for a chance to win $4,750 in cash prizes as well as scholarships for graduate studies at RIT’s Saunders College of Business.

The team finalists for the competition, hosted by the Albert J. Simone Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, are:

• OurDiet App: An easy-to-follow, direct diet resource offering personalized information based on a database of diseases. App gives users recommendations for proper diet and portion size.
• Real Wood Rentals: Offers sustainable furniture designed for college students and young professionals living in temporary housing with limited space. Materials are lightweight for easy shipping, and furniture is created with recovered materials to keep costs low.
• SignSpeak: A communication system for deaf and hearing users that interprets American Sign Language into English and transcribes spoken English conversations when interpreters or captionists are not available.
• SmartSec: Provides secure code-auditing services to companies implementing block-chain applications.
• Zuri: An app that assists African-American men and women in finding suitable hair stylists. The app shows locations and contact information for salons and barber shops, along with photos and customer reviews. The app also allows users to make appointments that sync with the salon’s systems.

Teams are required to present to the judges the problem the venture or business seeks to solve or gap in the marketplace it seeks to fill; a description of the target market; what value the venture would add to lives; and potential challenges to delivering the product or service. Proposals will be evaluated based upon their uniqueness, feasibility and the ability to impact people.