17-Year-Old Social Entrepreneurs Set to Create 'Cause' Apparel to Raise Environmental Awareness

Jason Kao and Chauncey Lau, both 17, of New York, NY, are one of the teams competing in this year’s i.Invest National Youth Entrepreneur Business Competition. As co-founders of Face the Facts (FtF) and students at Stuyvesant High School, Jason and Chauncey combined their passion for environmental awareness and fashion to create message t-shirts to support social causes.

Tell us about your business.

FtF creates apparel for environmentally conscious consumers and display graphics in a way that supports an environmental issue while raising awareness. For example, if someone wanted to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of carbon dioxide emissions on ocean acidification, instead of purchasing traditional activist apparel, they would buy FtF’s Ocean Acidification t-shirt, a scatter plot of shellfish and plankton populations versus world carbon dioxide emissions. The plot would show an obvious negative linear correlation between sea life and carbon dioxide emissions. Despite using complicated algorithms to create the graphic, the data visualization of FtF’s apparel are not only intuitive to the eye, but bring awareness to social and environmental issues facing the global community.

What inspired the creation of FtF?

Our goal is to change the aura of mistrust created in both modern-day media and politics regarding environmentalism and climate change by incorporating art, design, statistics, and storytelling into our clothing line.

What challenges will FtF need to overcome to be successful?

FtF’s target audience lives in New York City, a fast-paced cultural Mecca with a population of 11 million. Inhabitants of the five Boroughs are bombarded and overstimulated by both media and social marketing daily. FtF will create eye-catching graphics that grab the attention of activists.

How will FtF impact the world?

FtF will provide activists everywhere the opportunity to display irrefutable and indisputable evidence regarding their cause, and combat skepticism to the misinformed public.

What are the next steps for FtF?

FtF’s goal is to raise funds to start the production of our apparel line.

To stay abreast of FtF’s progress in the i.Invest Competition, sign up for our newsletter at www.i-investcompetition.com. To mentor or invest, email mjackson@i-investcompetition.com.

Good luck, Jason and Chauncey!

FINALIST: Johns Hopkins Engineering Students Develop Virtual Hand, Wrist Physical Therapy Software

Rahul Yerrabelli, 18, Benjamin Pikus, 18, Himanshu Dashora, 18, Parth Singh, 19, and Adam Polevoy,19, from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, are one of the teams participating in this year’s i.Invest Competition. Each of these young men are studying Biomedical Engineering, and were eager to solve one of the many issues facing the medical community with their company, MoTrack Therapy.

Tell us a little about your business.

MoTrack is a virtual reality software that has completely revolutionized the way that patients can receive physical therapy for hand and wrist injuries. Using the Leap Motion hardware and a webcam, MoTrack can track and interpret movements made by the patient’s hand and wrist. The patient can therefore complete physical therapy exercises at home and receive feedback on ways to improve in real-time. Because the exercises are designed to be more interactive and entertaining than traditional physical therapy, it is expected that MoTrack will have a higher rate of patient compliance to the regimen.

What inspired the creation of MoTrack?

After a friend suffered a serious wrist injury from playing cricket, these young men were surprised to see the intensive, time-consuming therapy that was needed to treat his injury. Years later, they participated in a weekend-long hackathon, MedHacks, where they were asked to use various gadgets to create a new medical invention. One of these gadgets happened to be a hand-tracking sensor used to track movements in virtual reality gaming. After putting their heads together and brainstorming, MoTrack was born.

What challenges will MoTrack face?

There are a few competitors in the same industry. However, MoTrack has the competitive edge when it comes to size and portability of the device. Furthermore, the current competitors are either focused in the European market or focused in general body therapy as opposed to hand therapy. In order to be successful, MoTrack will need to focus on educating consumers about the benefits of choosing MoTrack over other forms of therapy.

How will MoTrack impact the world?

Hand and wrist therapy is not only time-consuming, but costly and inconvenient as well. With MoTrack, patients will no longer have to schedule multiple appointments and travel to medical professionals’ offices to receive treatment. Instead, they will be able to do recommended exercises in the comfort of their own home while still receiving feedback about their progress and how they can improve. The cost of MoTrack therapy is far less than the cost of an in-office physical therapy appointment, so this software allows people of all income levels to receive the care that they need.

What are the next steps for MoTrack?

MoTrack has received $10,000 in non-dilutive funding from the Johns Hopkins University Ralph O’Connor Fund as well as an additional $300 from a Johns Hopkins University DMC grant. MoTrack hopes to secure another $50,000 from investors to cover the costs of patenting, running clinical trials and launching a large-scale marketing campaign.

To stay abreast of MoTrack’s progress in the i.Invest competition, visit www.i-investcompetition.com and register for the i.Invest newsletter. Also, to provide support as a mentor or investor, please mjackson@i-investcompetition.com.

Good luck, Rahul, Benjamin, Himanshu, Parth and Adam!

#youth #business #iinvest #competition #socialentrepreneurship #college #startup

2016 WINNER: 19-Year-Old Johns Hopkins University Student Creates Mobile App To Help People Struggli

Shrenik Jain, 19, a student at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, is one of this year’s competitors in the i.Invest Competition. Although he is without a doubt busy studying both applied math and computer science at one of the finest schools in the country, Jain spends his free time on a mission to help those suffering from mental health issues with his business, Atrium.

Tell us a little about your business.

Atrium is a mobile platform that offers anonymity and support to those suffering from mental health issues. Users can create an anonymous profile, search for the issue most relevant to them, and instantly be connected to other Atrium members with similar struggles as well as trained healthcare professionals.  Because Atrium is anonymous, users will feel at ease opening up about their problems, especially because everyone else within the small group can easily relate. Jain brilliantly used natural language processing algorithms that can detect vulgar or malicious content and prevent cyberbullying from occurring in the private groups.

What inspired the creation of Atrium?

While volunteering as an emergency medical technician in New Jersey, Jain was shocked at the number of people who faced mental health issues in his community. “I expected to be heroically carrying maimed bodies away from catastrophic accidents. But many more patients had wounds I could not see,” he said.

The many patients that he encountered during his volunteer work opened his eyes to the lack of mental health resources available to those in need. But, Jain spotted another problem with mental health in America: the social stigma surrounding it. Jain went on a mission to find a way for individuals struggling with mental health issues to get help while remaining anonymous to avoid the fear of being judged. The result? Atrium, which gives users the ability to seek help with just a few swipes of the fingertips without ever having to share personal information with others on the platform.

What challenges will Atrium face?

Jain plans on contacting different institutions such as the military who have mental health providers on-site. If they agree to work with Atrium, these mental health providers will be responsible for mediating conversations on the platform and providing guidance as needed. Therefore, Atrium’s success relies on the ability to secure these types of contracts and show the value of the service to mental health providers. Because there are many rules and regulations regarding the medical field, it’s important that Atrium stay compliant with all laws involving patient confidentiality, such as HIPAA.

How will Atrium impact the world?

Almost 1 in 4 Americans suffer from some sort of mental health issue, and tragically, about two-thirds of these individuals go without treatment. Although 90% of suicides are caused by mental health issues, this isn’t the only outcome for those suffering from these ailments. Many people choose to live in silence about their pain for years, fearing that friends and family will alienate them if they speak their truth. Atrium gives these individuals invaluable access to a private, anonymous peer-to-peer support group that they can use to discuss issues, build confidence and learn how to manage their feelings.

What are the next steps for Atrium?

Atrium has received funding from several non-dilutive sources, including $800 from Johns Hopkins Carey Business School Pitch Competition, $6,000 from Johns Hopkins Business Plan Competition, $10,000 from Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures Grant for Undergraduate Startups and $27,000 in cloud computing resources from Kaiser Permanente.

To stay abreast of Atrium’s progress in the i.Invest competition, visit www.i-investcompetition.com and register for the i.Invest newsletter. Also, to provide support as a mentor or investor, please email mjackson@i-investcompetition.com.

Good luck, Shrenik!