Reston, Va.-based Pragmatics Inc. served as the corporate sponsor for the George Mason University Laboratory for IT Entrepreneurship’s (LITE’s) second Pitch IT Competition on April 10.
“We are pleased to sponsor this event,” Pragmatics CEO Dr. Long Nguyen said, “and particularly proud to champion a competition that rewards the initiative, innovation and tenacity of these students. I congratulate all of the participants and encourage them to continue to pursue their business ideas — they are the future of information technology.”
Launched in 2014, the Pitch IT program aims at providing funding to student entrepreneurs with a promising business idea and a preliminary prototype or proof of concept.
Seven teams, each with at least one Mason participant, presented their IT-related business ideas to a panel of five judges, who provided feedback to the participants and were offered the opportunity to get funding for their ideas and enhance their ability to present and market their ideas to early-stage investors.
The judges assigned prizes for first, second and third place awards, and the audience assigned a fourth award. The first-place team, which also received the audience award, presented an idea for a mobile app to fast charge hubs in taxis and rideshares, eliminating the need for cables and battery packs.
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