Students from across the University competed in the Edward K. Aldag Jr. Business Plan Competition April 10-11 for a chance to take their business to the next level.
Student entrepreneurs pitched their business plans to a panel of judges, received feedback and competed for cash prizes from $500 to the grand prize of $50,000. Here are the 2025 winners.
2025 Edward K. Aldag Jr. Business Plan Competition Winners
Grand Prize Room
- Grand prize winner: Dakota Stern, with Dak Dynamics LLC
- First place: Ethan Myers and Emme Walsh with Quad Marketplace
- Second place: Gregory Allen and Jennifer Roehrs with Roehrs Diamonds
- Third place: Max McNally and Anthony Sherman with Boost
New Idea Room 1
- First place: Isabella Berry and Nora Sammons with Aerosole
- Second place: Anthony Laughlin with Coast
- Third place: Morgan Porter and Madyson Pritchett with Fresh Press
New Idea Room 2
- First place: John Feltel, Nathaniel Hahn and William Hessler with Guardian Food Systems
- Second place: Caleb Messerly and Shane Vanderhagen with SoHara
- Third place: Thomas Bazemore, Gregory Cohen, Jack Freas, Noah Hankel and Cole Sposito with Dystropomin
Established Concept Room
- First place: Luke Juliano and Ryan Keeney with Low Tide Poke
- Second place: Lars Griffin and Julian Woods with TappedIn
- Third place: Alexander Subin with HighTide Hydration
Alabama Power Foundation Innovation Technology Awards
- First place: Brett Kroona and Christopher Ostrow with Ingenuity Consulting LLC
- Second place: Stephen Emmanuel Abu, Zach Groves, Mohammad Mohi Uddin, Herart Nurue and Trang Tran with AI VLAB
- Third place: Caleb Messerly and Shane Vanderhagen with SoHara
NASA Patent Awards
- First place: Keylend Brooks, Zander Davidson, Max Dyer, Ian Hobbs and Jesse Park with MechChair
- Second place: John Feltel, Nathaniel Hahn and William Hessler with Guardian Food Systems
- Third place: Isabella Berry and Nora Sammons with Aerosole
Additional Awards
The Bob and Jean Merritt Repurpose Award
Ethan Myers and Emme Walsh with Quad Marketplace
Dr. Mark Weaver Non-Profit/Social Entrepreneur Award
Sandra Onyishi, Jesse Park, Manav Patel and Rishi Patel with The Rising Legends Program
The University of Alabama Athletic Entrepreneur Award
- First place: Kate Manning and Christopher Moehlenpah with MoCurá
- Second place: John Feltel, Nathaniel Hahn and William Hessler with Guardian Food Systems
- Third place: Sydney Blackhurst with Beyond Barriers Swim School
Best Team Award
Max McNally and Anthony Sherman with Boost
Best New Idea Award
Bennett Blanchard, Griffin Bossie, Andrew Doggett and Noah McAdams with Wellspring Therapy
Social Entrepreneur Award
Sandra Onyishi, Jesse Park, Manav Patel and Rishi Patel with The Rising Legends Program
Wild Card Award
Brody Barnett, Anna Brown, Peter Frisell, Trent Jones, Anna Pugh and Zach Schryver with OneFlyp
Crowd Favorite
Luke Juliano and Ryan Keeney with Low Tide Poke