An app that improves connectivity among students and professors. A shoe with a retractable high heel. An electric toothbrush with light therapy that can kill bacteria, whiten teeth and strengthen gum tissue.
These are some of the start-up companies presenting on Wednesday, April 25, at Loyola Marymount University’s Business Incubator Showcase. Sponsored by the College of Business Administration’s Fred Kiesner Center for Entrepreneurship, the event from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Von der Ahe Welcome Center will feature a variety of business concepts developed by students and recent graduates.
“LMU’s business incubator offers aspiring entrepreneurs the workspace and guidance needed to pursue their dreams in the real world,” said David Choi, director of the Kiesner Center. “I am so proud of the men and women who, with the incubator’s help, have built innovative and promising businesses that are positioned for success in the marketplace.”
The incubator is open to LMU students and graduates who have a great business idea or the skills to help a promising venture grow. Among them is Billy Walker, a junior mechanical engineering major who is part of the team behind the Bristl toothbrush, which combines the science of light therapy with sonic vibration to improve oral care. Not only does Walker believe that the product will sell, he said, he is proud to be marketing a product that he sees as a socially responsible one.
“The fact that we can use engineering, combined with business, to do good, it’s golden,” said Walker, who with Masaki Takamatsu, a Bristl business partner and fellow mechanical engineering major, is a recipient of the College of Business Administration’s Rising Star award.
Other start-ups participating in the Business Incubator Showcase are: Recupera, a meal service for people with serious medical conditions; CrytoSym, an educational platform for trading bitcoins; and Influencer Line, a business that captures the power of influencers by designing and marketing products for them.
