FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Two University of Arkansas graduate student teams – one solving problems faced by laparoscopic surgeons and the other developing a technology born in a university chemistry lab – emerged victorious in the national Baylor New Venture Competition in Waco, Texas, on Feb. 24. Medical device company Lapovations LLC took first place and $52,500 in winnings, while Grox Industries took home the Real Foundations innovation award and $9,000 in cash.

More than 140 teams applied to the prestigious competition, with 10 invited to compete as finalists in Waco. The University of Arkansas was the only institution with two teams in the finals, which also included teams from UCLA, Northwestern University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania.

Lapovations, LLC

“We have been the beneficiaries of many months of mentoring through the university’s New Venture Development program and the statewide Delta I-Fund,” said Jared Greer, CEO of Lapovations. “That expert coaching, combined with the development of our intellectual property portfolio, has been incredibly important for our company. Greer is a master’s student in biomedical engineering at the U of A. His teammates are Flavia Araujo and Michael Dunavant, both M.B.A. students in the Sam M. Walton College of Business. The three students met in the graduate-level New Venture Development course taught by associate vice chancellor for entrepreneurship Carol Reeves, who has long prized the value of interdisciplinary student teams.

Lapovations is developing a platform of innovative products that improve minimally invasive surgery. The company also took first place in the recent Brown-Forman Cardinal Challenge business plan competition and second place at the Ivey Business Plan Competition at Western University in Canada. The team’s total winnings amount to more than $71,000, which is being used to continue their research and development.

Grox Industries

Baylor University

Witness Martin and Andrew Miles of Grox Industries at the Baylor New Venture Competition.

Grox Industries has developed a custom, graphene oxide-based coating that improves the energy efficiency of windows, using a technological innovation from the lab of U of A chemistry professor Ryan Tian. The company CEO, Andrew Miles, a graduate of the M.B.A. program at Walton College, was joined at the Baylor competition by Grox chief innovation officer Witness Martin, who is pursuing a Ph.D. in microelectronics-photonics in the College of Engineering.

Previously, Grox Industries took first place in the 2017 SEC Student Pitch Competition, the University of Manitoba’s 2017 Stu Clark Investment Competition and at the 10th Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Collegiate Business Plan Competition.

Entrepreneurial Success

“The success of Lapovations and Grox Industries underscores the value of student teams that bridge multiple disciplines,” said Reeves. “Not only do they have a better chance of developing a solid business, but they learn to flex an important muscle – the one that allows them to negotiate and trade ideas with people who speak another professional language.”

Both companies received seed funding from the Delta I-Fund, an Arkansas program designed to help early stage, knowledge-based businesses develop through intensive customer discovery and mentoring.

“We were fortunate to be able to work with Lapovations during the 2017 cohort of the Delta I-Fund, a program designed to invest in, train and mentor entrepreneurs with innovative ideas for business,” said Jeff Stinson, the I-Fund instructor. “Given the Lapovations team’s diligent performance during the program, it doesn’t surprise me to see this level of early success. We’re proud to have played a part, and congratulations to the team!”

The Baylor New Venture Competition is a two-day business plan and elevator pitch competition promoting student entrepreneurship and showcasing student-created, -managed, and -owned ventures. Competitors receive expert feedback and coaching in addition to prize money and awards.

About the Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation: The mission of the University of Arkansas' Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation is to catalyze entrepreneurial activities and innovation across the university and throughout the state in order to build Arkansas' knowledge-based economy and support healthy, sustainable communities. Since 2009, University of Arkansas students have won more national business plan competitions – 24 in all – than any other institution.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.