Four Student Ventures Progress from Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship’s Innovation Challenge Preliminary Round to The Final Competition
This year’s Innovation Challenge Preliminary Round drew more than 50 student ventures from across 10 UMass schools and colleges. On April 15th, 2026, from a pool of just 25 selected to pitch, 4 emerged as finalists, with a chance to compete for a share of a $65,000 prize pool at the Innovation Challenge Final on April 30. The competition was hosted by the Berthiaume Center for Entrepreneurship, a Center at the Isenberg School of Management at UMass Amherst.
“For many of these students, the Preliminary Round marked more than a competition,” said Gregory Thomas, executive director of the Berthiaume Center. “It was a defining moment to step forward, share their ideas, and begin shaping their innovation into their dream of having real-world impact. Founders presented solutions rooted in personal insight, academic exploration, and a desire to create meaningful change.”
A panel of accomplished entrepreneurs, business leaders, and alumni brought both expertise and lived experience to the competition, challenging the competitors. The judges were:
- Eric Ashman ’89 (accounting), a startup veteran who has raised over $200 million and led a $300M+ exit
- John Fiorello, Entrepreneurial Center director at CT State University and founder of multiple ventures
- Benjamin Friedman, founder of Build Scale Grow and advisor to early-stage companies
- Jessica Sanon ’15 (applied mathematics), founder and CEO of sySTEMic flow
- Chris Velis ’89 (economics), co-founder of Auris Health, acquired by Johnson & Johnson in a $5.75 billion transaction
The judges quizzed students about their models, approach, and assumptions, to better understand if they knew what it takes to build something that will last.
“In many cases, it was a moment of validation,” said Amy McLain, associate director for external relations at the Berthiaume Center. “Discussing their ventures with these accomplished judges provided an opportunity for students to see that the journey of being a founder isn’t always a linear path, but one filled with trial, error, and excitement.”
The four ventures that will compete at the Innovation Challenge Final are:
Air-Gen — Alex Lombardi (Riccio College of Engineering)
Air-Gen generates continuous electricity from ambient humidity with no batteries, no sunlight, and no moving parts. Our dual-mechanism hydrogel platform enables truly maintenance-free, energy-autonomous electronics for smart buildings and IoT.
HertZ Innovation, Inc — Yuzhen Zhang (College of Natural Science)
HertZ Innovation strengthens public health by making advanced contamination detection accessible at the point of need. Through BactiSee, we enable rapid, reliable bacterial confirmation to improve safety, reduce costs, and support smarter decisions across industries.
Swine Shield — Ryan Ciulla (College of Life and Natural Science)
SwineShield manufactures a patent-pending protective vest for newborn piglets that reduces crushing-related mortality by up to 40%, saving operators $15,000–$40,000 annually while also improving animal welfare.
Vidovo — Elijah Khasabo (Isenberg School of Management)
Vidovo is a UGC marketplace and managed service that pairs brands with vetted everyday creators to produce scroll-stopping, paid-ready video content at scale. We handle sourcing, briefing, and production so brands get a steady stream of fresh ad creative without the overhead.
The Innovation Challenge experience extends well beyond the pitch competitions themselves. Through the Berthiaume Center’s partnerships across the UMass Amherst ecosystem, all participating students are connected to a robust network of resources that support ongoing venture development, including collaborations with the Institute for Applied Life Sciences (IALS), Technology Transfer Office, National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps) @ UMass Amherst, the Massachusetts Small Business Development Center, Ventures @ CICS, along with access to the UMass Amherst Makerspace, Business Library resources, VentureWell, Forge, Berkshire Innovation Center, and the Franklin County Community Development Corporation.
Students are also encouraged to stay engaged through campus organizations and events such as the UMass Entrepreneurship Club, HackUMass, Hack(H)er413, and TEDxAmherst—ensuring that every student has a pathway to continue building, learning, and connecting.
At the Innovation Challenge Final, on April 30 at 5 p.m. in the Old Chapel, founders will each have five minutes to pitch their ventures to judges and an audience, allowing the campus community to celebrate the creativity, resilience, and entrepreneurial spirit of UMass students.
Register to attend the Final here, or watch the livestream on the Berthiaume Center's YouTube channel.