The 38th Holloway Prize Competition will be held Tuesday, May 5, 2026.
NOW OPEN! People's Choice Award - Your vote helps one team win an extra $2,000!
RSVP today for the 2026 Holloway Competition
Come see six teams of top student entrepreneurs and innovators pitch their business plans to a panel of industry-leading judges for a chance to win the top prize of $15,000 in the 38th annual Paul J. Holloway Prize Competition.
Schedule
1 p.m. Competition Opening
Room G75, Marini Auditorium
Welcome by Holloway Competition Chair Andrew Earle
1:05 p.m. Judges Q&A with Student Entrepreneurs
Marini Auditorium
1:05 p.m. OmniClimb
1:32 p.m. Lablincs
1:59 p.m. Agent Integrator
2:30 Break
3:00 p.m. Armored Pig
3:27 p.m. Municable
3:54 Burlingame Technologies
4:30 p.m. Celebratory Reception and Awards Ceremony
5:00 p.m. Winning Teams Announced and the
2026 Paul J. Holloway Entrepreneur of the Year award
We know you’re likely tired of virtual meetings and webinars so we’re keeping this year’s competition as close to the original as possible. While the audience will be virtual, the event is being broadcast live from the Paul College auditorium, where the student teams will present their business plans from the stage in a professionally filmed production. $30,000+ is at stake, with the winning team taking home $15,000 to launch their business to the next level. Audience members also will have a pivotal role in choosing the People’s Choice award-winning team.
2023 Schedule
1 p.m. Competition Opening
Room G75, Paul College Auditorium
Welcome by Holloway Competition Chair Andrew Earle
1:05 p.m. Judges Q&A with Student Entrepreneurs
Room G75, Paul College Auditorium
1:05 p.m. TutorUp.AI Runner up
1:32 p.m. Electric Vehicle Scoup Runner up
1:59 p.m. Takko Time Runner up
2:26 p.m. Break
3:00 p.m. Spritely Spore, LLC Third Place
3:27 p.m HydroPhos First Place
3:55 p.m. Swellular - Wave Powered Communication System for First Responders Second Place and People's Choice
4:30 p.m. Celebratory Reception and Awards Ceremony
5:10 p.m. Winning Teams Announced and the
2023 Paul J. Holloway Entrepreneur of the Year will be awarded to Mary Johanna Brown.
People's Choice Award!
to take home an extra $2,000! Make your vote count twice by also voting using an in-person ballot at the event.
Voting will close on May 5 at 4:45 p.m.
Clever Cart- Runner-up!
Clever Cart is an Augmented Reality Navigation and Advertising Platform that
empowers customers, retailers, and marketers to benefit from the most advanced AR retail application ever created. Clever Cart is first and foremost a reinvention of in-store advertising with the mission of helping Grocers across the country.
Seth Gunter, Paul College (Hometown: Amherst, NH)
Faculty Advisor: Jeff Sohl
Farified- Runner-up!
Farified provides individuals with food allergies and dietary restrictions real-time information about what foods can be eaten based on individual profiles. Through the Farified app. users will receive personalized actionable intelligence regarding dining locations, food choices, and ingredient changes. Farified is dedicated to reducing large number of adverse, sometimes fatal, food reactions and empower a community of people to make informed decisions regarding food safety.
Madison Smith, CHHS (Hometown: Moultonborough, NH)
Ann-Marie Kolberg, Paul College (Hometown: Delmar, NY)
Faculty Advisor: Jeff Sohl
HallHub- 2nd Place!
HallHub is a "Digital" Residence Hall that elevates campus communities, helping universities stay relevant in a rapidly changing world.
Nicolas Camara, CEPS (Hometown: San Paulo)
Garrett Frohman, CEPS (Hometown: Hudson, NH)
Caleb Peffer, CEPS (Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
LyfeStyle- Runner-up and People's Choice!
LyfeStyle is a free-to-download smartphone application which informs consumers on what activities and events are in their desired area. Utilizing the LyfeStyle app will not only benefit consumers, but businesses will be able to update their events seamlessly. All B2C businesses are supported by giving them an all in one platform to advertise. The application supports consumers' ability to be educated on any upcoming and current events that match their lifestyle or wants. Whether that be dining, entertainment, shopping or anything in between, after this pandemic everyone will be looking for an exciting night out away from their household.
Gavin Thibodeau, Paul College (Hometown: Westford, MA)
Jack Kelly, Paul College (Hometown: Wyndmoor, PA)
Justin Szabo, Paul College (Hometown: Tolland, CT)
Faculty Advisor: Bruce Pfieffer
Mongo- 3rd Place!
Mongo is new sustainable plant-based protein derived from mung beans that is high in protein, fiber and antioxidants. Mongo is versatile as it can be incorporated into stir-fry’s, wraps, scrambles and smoothies.
Jessica Nelson, Paul College (Hometown: Deerfield, NH)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
SPAITR- 1st Place!
With SPAITR™, players and coaches can see the speed of their shot, the angle of release, and the number of reps that were taken during practice or play sessions. Coaches can hold players accountable as well as see minute details about practice sessions and games. SPAITR™ is not only a platform for viewing growth and distinct play statistics, it is also a social platform that can allow players to share their improvements, participate in team and national leaderboards, as well as interact with their teammates. Parents and relatives can also see their youth’s progress in a way that allows them to interact actively with their child's growth, in a level of detail that was previously impossible.
Brayden Esmaili, CEPS (Hometown: Wilmont, NH)
Nathaniel Hunt, COLA (Hometown: Rochester, NH)
Joey Neleber, CEPS (Hometown: Guilford, CT)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
BuddyUp- Runner-Up
BuddyUp is a wristband that allows swimmers to notify lifeguards and parents that they need help with the press of a button. The app enables lifeguards to pin point the swimmers location through the use of augmented reality. By decreasing the uncertainty in lifeguarding, BuddyUp allows swimmers to take water safety into their own hands.
Jessica Nelson, Paul College (Hometown: Deerfield, NH)
Jamie Nelson, Paul College (Hometown: Deerfield, NH)
TJ Evarts, CEPS (Hometown: Londonderry, NH)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
ecoText, Inc.- 2nd Place & People's Choice Award
Students and their families struggle every semester to cover the high “out of pocket” costs of college textbooks. ecoText’s mission is to reduce these financial obstacles to create opportunity through affordability. ecoText bridges the gaps between colleges, publishers, professors, and students by aggregating titles onto its online platform that is set to become the ultimate collaboration learning tool for students and professors.
Dylan Wheeler, CEPS & COLA (Hometown: Bow, NH)
Nelson Thomas, COLA (Hometown: Plainfield, NJ)
Rachel Yee, COLSA (Hometown: Brewster, NY)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
HallHub- Runner-Up
Transitioning into the college environment can be difficult for incoming freshman,who may feel lonely and intimidated without their family and friends. Hallhub connects dorm residents with their RA’s, fostering meaningful relationships between residents and the hall community. RA’s can notify users of upcoming socials, release polls, and address concerns conveniently from their mobile device.
Nick Camara, CEPS (Hometown: Sao Paolo, Brazil)
Caleb Peffer, CEPS (Hometown: Salt Lake City, UT)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
Kikori- 1st Place
Kikori is a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that supports educators in transforming their classrooms through experiential education activities - so their students can transform the world. The benefits of experiential education and social emotional learning have been heralded in recent years as significantly improving academics, student well-being, and school climate. Kikori's easy-to-use digital platform aligns activities with curriculum, training, and impact measurement tools, supporting teachers in providing students with the whole-child education necessary to succeed inside and outside the classroom.
Kendra Bostick, GRAD (Hometown: Manton, Michigan)
Bhavya Wadhwa, GRAD (Hometown: Delhi, India)
Gayathri Venkatasrinivasan, GRAD (Hometown: Chennai, India)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
SCRAPP- 3rd Place
Scrapp is a free-to-download, gamified, smartphone application which educates consumers and rewards individuals and institutions for recycling correctly. Utilizing the theory of behavioural economics, the Scrapp App enables consumers to change their behaviour around everyday recycling activities. Scrapp supports the consumer with immediate, positive feedback and empowers them to realize that many of the materials they may be throwing away are, in fact, a valuable resource.
Mikey Pasciuto, CEPS (Hometown: Burlington, MA)
Daniel Marek, CEPS (Hometown: Ashland, UK)
Evan Gwynne Davies, CEPS (Hometown: Andover, UK)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
SQN Capital Partners- Runner-Up
SQN Capital Partners is a financial services venture which aims to deliver a sustainable and effective capital formation solution to address the structural problems inherent to the existing higher-education finance industrial complex; SQN’s core offering – the SQN Income-Share Agreement, or ISA – provides a sophisticated alternative to the antiquated portfolio of solutions available to American students today, which are reliant on a debt-capital funding model. Our ISAs – with a structure most closely analogous to that of preferred share equity – allow students to source capital via a financial instrument which more effectively accounts for the risks inherent to investment in their post-secondary educational pursuits. Similarly, the SQN ISA platform also offers investors the opportunity to place capital in an ESG compliant investment vehicle, comprised of securitized portfolio of ISAs and which delivers attractive risk-adjusted returns on their capital with ultra-low correlation coefficients to broader-market volatility events.
Cameron Horack, Paul College (Hometown: Beverly, MA)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
VELV - 1st Place
Bad breath - awkward silences - splitting the bill; there’s a lot to worry about on a first date. Your safety shouldn’t be one of them. VELV is a dating platform that provides peace of mind for your first date. Join VELV and feel good about firsts.
Christin Badylak-Reals, CEPS (Hometown: Plymouth, NH)
Jessica Lavallee, PAUL (Hometown: Keene, NH)
Matthew Ross, PAUL (Hometown: Londonderry, NH)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
Liquid Hops - 2nd Place
Every pint of beer uses the hop plant to contribute to its bitterness, aroma and flavor. However, larger breweries have a much easier time consistently securing hops due to their large purchase volume and low diversity of beers. This leaves small craft breweries paying a premium for the same hop, if they can even get an order to begin with. Liquid Hops will be an indoor hydroponic hop farming facility focused on expanding the growing season for hops and helping local craft breweries and brewpubs. The company’s vision is to not only expand the versatility of eco-friendly farming using hydroponics, but to help New England brewing thrive.
Jonathan Carrigan, CEPS (Hometown: Hampton, NH)
Faculty Advisor: Daniel Winans
The Bogey Bag - 3rd Place
The goal of The Bogey Bag is to change the way golfers manage their anger while on the golf course. The Bogey Bag is a punching bag that attaches to any golf cart allowing players to take their anger out in a fun and healthy way without paying the price of equipment replacement or injuries. Whether it is a gift for a friend, or a product for yourself, The Bogey Bag is a surefire way to enjoy the game more.
Steven Schnobrich, PAUL (Hometown: Stratham, NH)
Faculty Advisor: Ian Grant
Ease - Runner Up
Ease is an online platform that finds international students rental housing and facilitates the process of renting on a turnkey basis. Our mission is to provide international students with seamless experiences in their rental process and enhance their educational decision on studying abroad in the US.
Win Phyu Phyu Aung, PAUL (Hometown: Durham, NH)
Chau Nguyen, PAUL (Hometown: Durham, NH)
Zhen Hui Jiang, PAUL (Hometown: Dover, NH)
Faculty Advisor: Lisa Keslar
Grocery Optimizer - Runner Up
Grocery Optimizer's mission is to save you time and money while ensuring that you have the proper amount of nutrition in your diet. Our web-based service generates shopping lists with affordable items that are guaranteed to fulfill your weekly nutritional requirements, making it easy to be sure that you're getting the most nutrition for your dollar.
Caleb Peffer, CEPS (Hometown: Durham, NH)
Faculty Advisor: Laura Deitze
Ping! - Runner Up
Ping! is an app that helps college students stay connected on the weekends. If by chance you find yourself in an unsafe, awkward or otherwise uncomfortable situation, Ping! will instantly send an alert to your group including location tracking and a predetermined message, all at the push of a button. Ping!'s mission is to bring America back to when the outside world was a place to be adventured, not feared.
RJ Harrington, PAUL (Hometown: Hingham, MA)
Dylan Wheeler, CEPS (Hometown: Bow, NH)
Faculty Advisor: Danielle Brick
TutorUp.AI Runner up
TutorUP is a web application that offers an online interactive classroom experience with an AI assistant available 24/7. The AI tutor enhances online learning by answering student questions during recorded video lectures, overcoming limitations of traditional video lectures. TutorUP aims to provide a more dynamic and engaging learning experience at a low cost for universities.
Oliver Willis, CEPS (Hometown: Groton, MA)
Paul Gesel, CEPS
Faculty Advisor: Ruml Wheeler
Agent Integrator
Agent Integrator is an AI transformation firm and venture studio. We build and launch vertical AI agents with industry leaders.
Shaun Devan, CEPS, UNH, (Hometown: Derry, NH)
Advisor: Ray Grady
Armored Pig Studios
We are a development team focused on creating XR (AR/VR) applications and games.
Kinoa Witt, CEPS, UNH, (Hometown: Concord, NH)
Aidan Cronin, Paul, UNH, (Hometown: Attleboro, MA)
Dylan Nye, COLA, UNH, (Hometown: Laconia, NH)
Advisor: Kimberly Clark
Burlingame Technologies
Burlingame Technologies is a hardware and software company redefining productivity for knowledge workers through seamless workflow automation. We design premium, easy-to-use macro pads that combine multi-step sequence automation, intuitive software, and AI integration to help creators, developers, and professionals work faster and smarter.
David Scholz, CEPS, UNH, (Hometown: Adams, MA)
OmniClimb
Our venture is OmniClimb - a technological advancement in the field of indoor rock climbing that provides climbers with real-time feedback on their climbing performance, providing a way to track their progress, log which climbs they've completed, and find ways to improve.
Ethan O'Leary, COLA, UNH, (Hometown: Madison, NH)
Advisor: Michael Ferguson
Lablincs
Lablincs is a unified research ecosystem designed to solve three critical challenges in academia—inefficient researcher–PI matching, difficult-to-navigate research knowledge , and fragmented research workflows—enabling faster, more effective collaboration.
Kwasi Owusu-Boateng, Paul, UNH, (Hometown: Accra, Ghana)
King-James Egbe, CEPS, UNH, (Hometown: Benue State, Nigeria)
Nizar Alhalabi, CEPS, UNH, (Hometown: Beirut, Lebanon)
Fatima Hanif, CEPS, UNH, (Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan)
Advisor: Joël Nkounkou
Municable
Municable is a GovTech company modernizing the local government citizen experience through AI-powered search. We help residents get answers and complete tasks instantly while reducing workload for government staff, saving time on both ends.
Arthur Murphy, Paul, UNH, (Deerfield, NH)
Advisor: Lisa Keslar
Moderator(s):
Moderator: Joe HerrNeckar
Time Keeper: Joe HerrNeckar
JUDGES
Gareth Dickens '02, Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO of ConvenientMD
Ed Farrington '93, President, Impax Asset Management North America
Jeremy Hitchcock, Managing Partner & Co-Founder, New North Ventures
Joanne Mercaldi, Co-Founder & CEO, BLOOM
Peter Paul '67, Owner & Chairman, Headlands Asset Management
Jackie Russ, '88. CFO & COO Glance Networks.
Meg Smith '07, Founder & CEO, Cloudstate and Love Lexxi
Jeffrey Sohl named UNH Paul J. Holloway Entrepreneur of the Year
Jeffrey Sohl, a pioneering researcher in angel investing and a driving force behind experiential entrepreneurship education at the University of New Hampshire, has been named UNH’s 2026 Paul J. Holloway Entrepreneur of the Year.
Sohl is a professor emeritus of entrepreneurship and decision sciences at the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics and the former director of the Center for Venture Research. Over the course of his career, he has become a nationally recognized authority on angel investing, helping shape understanding of early-stage capital markets through decades of research, policy engagement, and industry collaboration.
He has authored more than 50 peer-reviewed articles, delivered over 60 keynote addresses worldwide, and provided invited testimony to both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. His work has been featured in major media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, and The Economist. In recognition of his contributions to the field, Sohl received the prestigious Hans Severiens Award from the Kauffman Foundation.
At UNH, Sohl’s impact extends beyond research. He is the founder and former managing director of the Mel Rines Student Angel Investment Fund, an innovative program that gives undergraduate students hands-on experience evaluating startups, conducting due diligence, and making real investment decisions. Since its launch, the fund has provided students with a highly competitive, real-world learning environment that mirrors professional investment firms.
Under Sohl’s leadership, the Rines Fund has become a cornerstone of entrepreneurship education at UNH, with students producing comprehensive investment analyses and engaging directly with founders and investors. The experience has helped graduates launch careers across venture capital, finance, and startups, with many securing positions before completing their degrees.
In 2022, he was honored with the University of New Hampshire’s Distinguished Professor Award.
Sohl has also played a key role in advancing entrepreneurship research and practice nationally, serving on editorial boards for leading academic journals including Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, and contributing to national initiatives such as the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Capitalizing Science, Technology and Innovation.
A Special Thank you to our Event Supporters
Paul and Anna Grace Holloway
Bud Albin Entrepreneurship Fund
Charles and Mirium Nelson Fund for Business Innovation
#HollowayPrize
The 2024 schedule will be updated in the coming months.
If you are unable to attend in person, you can watch the student pitches and ceremony on May 10 beginning at 1 p.m. via the Holloway live-stream.
*The championship round will be live-streamed and the link will be emailed to registrants prior to the event
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