Competing Teams

NextGenFile

NexGenFile1
2nd Place
Merritt Blum
Industrial Engineering
Peachtree Corners, GA
Royce Arockiasamy
Computer Science
Cumming, GA
Matt Geuss
Industrial Engineering
Alpharetta, GA
Kara Taylor
Industrial Engineering
Suwanee, GA
Aashni Patel
Industrial Engineering
Oviedo, FL
Daniel Cseh
Computer Science
Valdosta, GA

NextGenFile is a web-based platform that automates Leave of Absence filings for attorneys, seamlessly integrating with Georgia’s e-filing systems to eliminate manual entry, reduce errors, and provide real-time tracking—saving lawyers countless hours and ensuring they never miss a deadline.

Winning the InVenture Prize would validate NextGenFile as a groundbreaking legal tech solution, providing us with the recognition, funding, and mentorship needed to accelerate our growth. It would amplify our credibility within the legal community, opening doors to key partnerships with bar associations and court systems. Additionally, it would solidify our status as innovators, attracting investors and early adopters while reinforcing our mission to revolutionize legal automation. Most importantly, it would empower us to expand beyond Georgia, bringing efficiency and relief to attorneys nationwide.

Allez Go

AllezGo1
Jason Mo
Computer Science
Fullerton, CA
Adam Kulikowski
Computer Science
Peoria, IL

Allez Go is a real-time blade tracking system that enhances fencing broadcasts by visually highlighting blade movements, making the sport easier and more entertaining to watch.

Winning the InVenture Prize would highlight the untapped entertainment potential of fencing, proving that with the right technology, the sport can captivate a much broader audience. Allez Go is more than just an innovation—it’s a vision for transforming fencing into a widely celebrated, mainstream sport. This recognition would not only elevate the sport but also significantly boost Allez Go by positioning us as leaders in fencing innovation. We are passionate about fencing and believe that with this recognition, we can share its speed, strategy, and beauty with the world. This is more than just a business to us; it’s a mission to redefine how the world views fencing, making it a thrilling, accessible, and major part of global sports culture.

Verse

Verse1
Elliot Roe
Computer Science
Bexley, OH

Assignments that your students can talk to.

Winning the InVenture Prize would mean that educators everywhere could begin to meaningfully incorporate AI into their classroom.

Stride Labs

StrideLabs2
Aadhav Sundar
Biomedical Engineering
Peachtree City, GA

AI CAD Automation for custom orthotics.

Winning the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize would be a pivotal milestone for Stride Labs, validating our mission to revolutionize the orthotics industry with AI-driven automation. As finalists, we see this as an opportunity to amplify our impact—accelerating the adoption of digital manufacturing in the O&P Industry. This recognition would not only provide critical funding and resources but also elevate our visibility among investors, industry leaders, and potential partners. Most importantly, it would reinforce our commitment to transforming how custom orthotics are designed and manufactured, making high-precision, patient-specific solutions more accessible than ever.

Convexity Electronics

ConvexityElectronics
1st Place
Calla Scotch
Materials Science and Engineering
Amesbury, MA
Anuj Pandey
Mechanical Engineering
Cumming, GA
Atharva Lele
Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Singapore

An electronics 3D Printer for manufacturing 3D Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) at scale, enabling smaller circuitry, faster lead times, and more compact electronic devices.

Winning InVenture would show the world that innovation does not require a billion-dollar budget or an army of engineers- it takes relentless curiosity, grit, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. It would give us the visibility to catapult our development forward and progress to market with a groundbreaking product.  Winning will open the door to making key connections within the industry, and establish ourselves as living examples that additive manufacturing is meant for more than just prototyping, it's meant for mass production.

DivineDrive

DivineDrive
People's Choice
Ty Thompson
Business Administration
Acworth, GA
Sydney Brown
Biomedical Engineering
Fayetteville, GA

DivineDrive is the first performance supplement to combine clean energy, rapid hydration, and muscle recovery in one powerful drink.

Winning the InVenture Prize means continuing the legacy Georgia Tech has built—an innovation hub for scientists, engineers, and bold thinkers. But it also means forging our own path, proving that Georgia Tech doesn’t just produce engineers—it produces leaders who shape the future.

Judges

headshot
Senior Technology Advisor for the City of Atlanta

Georgia Tech alum, Donald Beamer Jr., holds 11+ years of experience in new product introduction and strategy execution. Beamer currently serves as Atlanta’s first-ever appointed Senior Tech Advisor, as of 2022. In this position, he will work to advance Atlanta’s technology workforce in the form of existing firms and startups. Beamer is also a mentor for Techstars, a global investment business with one of the largest startup networks in the world.  

 

Beamer recently served as the General Manager of LotVision Automotive at Cox2M, a business line with Cox Communications that drives efficiencies by providing industries with the ability to monitor and track commercial assets. At Cox2M, Beamer was responsible for the strategy implementation for these tracking services and the launch of a $50 million commercial business line for Cox Communications. 

 

Prior to Cox, Beamer served as President and CFO of Monsieur, a Summer Associate at McKinsey and Company, and an Associate at Blackrock.

John Flavin
Founder & Ceo of Portal Innovations

John is the Founder and CEO of Portal Innovations, a premier venture development platform that builds and invests in life sciences ventures across the U.S. with labs in Chicago, Boston, Atlanta and Houston.

Prior to launching Portal, John founded and built several life sciences companies including Pyxis Oncology (NASDAQ: PYXS) and civic incubators MATTER and the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago, a first-of-its-kind, fully integrated academic value creation engine which supports commercializing academic innovation.

Over his career, John has completed numerous public and private capital financings totaling over $400 million including 3 NASDAQ IPOs and has raised over $135 million in philanthropic and corporate funding to support university technology commercialization and venture start-up activities.

John is quoted often in the financial media including CNBC Fast Money, Bloomberg, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Institutional Investor, Chicago Tribune and Crain’s Chicago Business. John hosts the Lab Rats To Unicorns podcast, where he holds biweekly conversations with professionals in life sciences to discuss their journey to bring life-saving treatments to patients.

John has a B.S. in Business Administration from Marquette University and an M.B.A. from Lewis University

Kathryn O'Day
Partner at Atlanta Ventures

Kathryn O'Day is a partner at Atlanta Ventures where she empowers entrepreneurs to learn, build, and grow. She has been scaling Atlanta tech companies for over a decade as employee #9 at Pardot (acquired by Salesforce) and COO at Rigor (acquired by Splunk).

 

Kathryn lives in Atlanta with her husband and two sons. She is a 7x Ironman Triathlon Finisher including two World Championships. She shares weekly startup wisdom at The O’Daily and loves helping founders start and scale companies!

Hosts

Mengwasser outside.

Nine-time Emmy award-winning Host, Writer, and Executive Producer Ashley Mengwasser is in her tenth year co-hosting the annual InVenture Prize at Georgia Tech.

 

Ashley began her 15-year career in television hosting GPB’s popular series Georgia Traveler. Travel highlights include skydiving with grandma, boxing with an Olympian, ballroom dancing, and a ghoulish The Walking Dead zombie transformation.

 

This high-school Valedictorian is as brainy as she is brazen. Ashley is the creator of GPB’s “digital-first” series Tiny Mic, Big Designs, featuring young inventors competing in Georgia Tech’s K-12 InVenture Prize.

 

Much of Ashley’s media work is strikingly education focused. She serves as Host of GPB Education’s Emmy-winning Live Exploration programs and also hosts the Classroom Conversations podcast series for Georgia educators, now in its sixth season. The podcast has won a Communicator Award.

 

In the Atlanta community, Ashley emcees awards shows, non-profit galas, and bar and bat mitzvahs (as “Emcee A$H-Money”). Her work as an entertainer has helped raise more than $500,000 for organizations that benefit women and children. She will host Georgia’s 2025 Allie Awards this March.

 

Ashley graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from Agnes Scott College in 2009 with a B.A. in English Literature. She spends non-work hours vacuuming and gallivanting with her two-year-old basset hound, Starla. Starla enjoys peanut butter and sticks…but this isn’t about her.

Faith Salie headshot

Faith Salie THRILLED to return to Tech to host the Inventure Prize! She’s a six-time Emmy award-winning journalist on CBS Sunday Morning and a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! Her Off-Broadway solo show, Approval Junkie, based on her memoir of the same title, was named one of Audible’s Best. Faith has been a storyteller for The Moth, with her story viewed over 6 million times and also included in two of The Moth’s New York Times bestsellers. Faith’s next podcast is Audible’s Envy Enlightened, which debuts in June 2025. She’s written for The New York Times, Time, USA Today, O, The Oprah Magazine, Slate, and McSweeney’s.

 

Faith grew up in Atlanta and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard, aka the Georgia Tech of the North. She’s also the only Rhodes scholar who’s ever been beamed up on Star Trek. She’s loves raising kids in Manhattan who say “y’all.”