RALEIGH – Back in 2017, doctorate students Aaron Fleming and Lindsay Sullivan took a product innovation course at NC State. Together, they came up with the idea of manufacturing affordable prosthetic kits for above-knee amputees in developing countries.
Fast-forward to today: The founders of OpenGait Prosthetics took home several prizes at Wednesday’s Lulu eGames Live for their innovation – including first prize in the categories of New Venture and Audience Choice.
Total prize money won: $19,000.
“We had no idea what or if we were going to win. We’re so excited,” said Fleming, 27. “We’re going to put towards the company and trying to develop the product.”
The team plans to travel to Guatemala later this year to test it.
“We’re hoping to have about 10 kits to put together, so this will go towards the kits and also funding the testing that we need to do in Guatemala,” added Sullivan, 26.
More than 600 people packed into NC State’s Stewart Theatre for the event hosted by WRAL-TV’s anchor Renee Chou.
In total, officials handed out more than $100,000 in prize money as part of the competition sponsored by publishing company Lulu.com.
Emily Neville, 21, founder of Reborn Clothing Co., making her pitch at Wednesday’s Lulu eGames.
Supporting student ventures
Started back in 2009, Lulu eGames is run by NC State’s Entrepreneurship Initiative with the goal of helping startups coming out of NC State with early-stage capital.
This year, around 35 finalists were selected out of 148 entries to compete across five categories: Arts Venture, Built on Cloud, Social and Environmental Impact, Design and Prototype and New Venture.
Winning teams from each category then went on to present one-minute pitches to win an additional $1000 for Judges’ and Audience favorites.
Emily Neville, 21, founder of Reborn Clothing Co., scored on that front, taking home second place for New Venture and the bonus prize for Judges’ favorite.
WRAL-TV’s anchor Renee Chou emceed the Lulu eGames at Stewart Theatre on Wednesday night.
“I love pitching and getting feedback from judges. That’s when you can get into the details of it and really show your brand and knowledge off,” the junior told WRAL TechWire shortly after her win.
A few years back, she started the company with the vision to transform surplus textile waste and branded apparel into higher-value products.
Already, she has raised $60,000 in seed funding, and is looking to raise another $250,000 this year.
“We’re an up-and-running startup. We work out of a cut and sew facility. This will really help just to cover while we’re raising another round of funding. Every little bit helps,” she said.
NCSU startups share more than $100,000 in Lulu eGames competition
