Alchemize Fightwear is the 2020 Hen Hatch finals’ top startup

Look out for this next batch of impressive out of University of Delaware’s Horn Entrepreneurship.

The program’s 2020 Hen Hatch finals were held virtually on Dec. 6, convening six students startups to compete for a pool of cash and in-kind prizes. All of the finalists logged off with a piece of the prize pool.

Alchemize Fightwear, founded by Maya Nazareth, was the top winner, earning over $11,000 in cash, plus $5,000 in resources and $1,000 via Horn’s VentureOn as winner of the Audience Choice Award for Most Commercially Viable.

Alchemize Fightwear is a startup that produces and sells martial arts fightwear and self-care products designed especially for women, with a portion of the proceeds from every purchase supporting women’s self defense and trauma recovery initiatives.

Nazareth also has The Alchemize Podcast, covering topics relating to  health, healing and self defense for women.

Check out Nazareth’s video, “Why I started Alchemize Fightwear”:

Backyard Gig was awarded nearly as much as the second-biggest winner, taking in about $5,000 in cash funding plus $12,000 of business consultancy from Placers.

Founded by Shaun Gupta and Shahroze Ali, Backyard Gig is a platform that connects college students to people in the community that need small jobs done, from help with moving to photography to tutoring. The platform is currently live, serving the Newark area, as it develops.

GetPotluck, a food delivery app founded by Hope Vega that specializes in small ethnic grocery stores and restaurants won the Audience Choice Award for Most Socially Responsible Social Venture, as well as over $8,000 in legal services and cash. Early partner businesses include Parivaar Supermarket in New Castle and Akwaaba Eats and Wang’s Oriental Food Store in Newark. The app aims to provide a service for homesick international students and introduce local users to food and establishments they may not be familiar with, as well as support small ethnic businesses.

Pre-revenue track finalists were also awarded $1,000 to $2,000 each. They are CyberSecLabs, a data consultancy for the food processing and handling industry; Blue Tusk, training tools for students and cyber security professionals; and Nuvensus, a real estate investment startup that uses a proprietary data interpretation.

The faculty, staff and alumni track of Hen Hatch, which previously competed alongside the student track, will be held in 2021 at neoFest.