Eight students participating in the DDCE Prodigy Institute of Products recently won first place in KPMG’s annual Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Battle of the Brains Competitionbeating 13 other universities and winning a grand prize of $50,000.
With so many talented competitors from the top schools in the country, Prodigy product manager Rubén Cantú says the team didn’t think they would come out on top. Yet their hard work and experience at the Product Prodigy Institute really paid off.
“The team said the reason they were able to win was because of the team development training we do from the very first semester of the program, which is a testament to why we were able to be resilient and bounce back so quickly,” Cantú said. , executive director of Inclusive Innovation and Entrepreneurship, which hosts the Product Prodigy Institute.
This intense six-day event, held last September at the Home Depot Tech Center, brought together HSI students from across the country for a unique opportunity to network and learn from technology industry leaders and commercial. Finalists were challenged to participate in a 24-hour pitch competition, during which they were tasked with finding a solution to issues facing the Hispanic community.
In 24 hours, the Longhorns brainstormed ideas for a startup focused on improving health outcomes for Hispanic communities in the United States. With members from the Texas Rio Grande Valley, the Product Prodigy team set out to find a viable solution to the region’s lack of access to healthy foods, particularly convenient grocery stores with fresh produce.
“This area is predominantly Hispanic, and we found that many residents have high rates of diabetes, which is a precursor to many long-term chronic diseases,” says Annie You, a management information systems/government major. /sociology. “So we wanted to focus on that particular area because some of us are from there and are passionate about helping the community.” »
To fill this gap, the students came up with a new company called “Ama Tu Vida” (Love Your Life), an accessible mobile grocery bus with a geolocation app that targets desert neighborhoods. To take this resource one step further, they have included an app offering healthy recipes for traditional meals.
“We also wanted to include an educational component because we found that access to fresh food was not the only problem,” You explains. “People also need to know what ingredients they can substitute to make the foods they love healthier. »
After many hours of brainstorming, the team presented their startup to a panel of judges representing major industries, including Dell, Home Depot, eBay and many others. During their presentation, two team members shared personal stories about their family struggles with food insecurity, highlighting the significant impact their startup would have in the Texas borderlands.
For you – and its team of thought leaders, nonprofit executives and up-and-coming entrepreneurs – the awards ceremony was a moment they will never forget.
“The word ‘excited’ doesn’t begin to describe how we all felt when we heard our team declared the winner,” You said. “It was honestly the coolest moment I’ve ever had in my life because it was so surreal and unexpected.”
After graduation, You looks forward to working in the tech industry or perhaps education, where she could focus on equity. Wherever her career path takes her, she aspires to make a positive impact and contribute to the common good.
“The potential impact of this project really resonated with me because we weren’t just focused on the solution, but more on the people we would be helping and really understanding their challenges as a community,” You says.
In addition to Product Prodigy’s annual Demo Day, this is the program’s second major startup competition. Looking to the future, Cantú is excited to celebrate more victorious moments with his future cohorts of students who fulfill the University’s mission statement: What starts here changes the world.
“Seeing what we can accomplish together makes me even more excited about the work ahead and the impact we will have on many more young people,” says Cantú. “It’s almost poetic because, despite the political challenges, we have continued to focus on our mission and prove that it is worthy and noble.”
Learn more about the Product Prodigy Institute
Product Prodigy Institute is a two-year program that takes students from diverse backgrounds through the process of learning the many facets of entrepreneurship with the goal of launching their own businesses and articulating their business plans during the culminating event of the demo day.
Reporting by Abbie Bard
