Kaplan Pitch Tank (Spring ’24)

Kaplan Pitch Tank is the Startup Studio’s year-end event in which the top student-led startups at Illinois Tech will compete for a prize pool of over $50,000! This year’s competition will take place on Friday, April 19, from 1–5 p.m.

Here’s What You Can Expect:

Audience Choice Competition

When you arrive at Kaplan Pitch Tank, you will receive a voting token which you can use to vote for your favorite startup. You will have 45 minutes to explore the startup exhibition room to meet the founders and learn about their startups before deciding who to vote for.

Finalist Pitches

In the beginning of April, five of the following startup teams will be selected as finalists. Each finalist will have the opportunity to pitch LIVE to a panel of experts for a chance at the $50,000 prize pool! Here is this year’s co-hort:

Biagon Molecular Engineering's proprietary machine learning algorithm can predict the biochemical activity of new drug leads, accelerating lead optimization by reducing the number of development cycles to reach the desired product.

Build Your Indyfund seeks to give unsophisticated retail investors the tools and platform to democratize investing and hedge their bets the way they want.

Droyd is an artificial intelligence agent platform for young e-commerce entrepreneurs with less than four months of experience, that completely manages and scales your online store.

H2.0 Resilience assesses flood-prone zones for city water departments using a machine learning model that predicts flood risk and offers mitigation strategies.

Lumos is redefining financial advisory integrating AI automation and unparalleled security, ensuring a personalized and protected financial narrative for every client.

Mindful Operation Mentor System (MOMs) improves the quality of life for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with the technology to help navigate social interactions.

Mosaic closes the talent gap in tech manufacturing by developing students into skilled professionals through AI-curated projects, reducing hiring and training costs for employers.

Radiator Revivers is an app-controlled radiator valve that can be retrofitted on steam or hot water radiators in old buildings that reduces energy costs by achieving room level temperatures.

Solvo U.S. is to provide a revolution in the water treatment process.

SPACES addresses the rising costs of socializing leading to social isolation for corporations facing challenges in achieving quality marketing engagement with their ideal consumers.

Special Keynote Speaker

More details to come!

Awards Ceremony

We will announce the audience choice winner and the three grand prize winners of Kaplan Pitch Tank.

Grand Prizes

1st place—$30,000

2nd place—$15,000

3rd place—$5,000

Networking Event

We will have an optional networking event with music, free food, and drinks following the awards ceremony. This will be an opportunity to chat with the founders, judges, and fellow audience members!

Register