You’d be wise to keep tabs on the winners of Drexel’s Startup Day

Drexel University’s School of Entrepreneurship held its annual Startup Day on Nov. 11, which exposed some 400 students, entrepreneurs and professors to that sweet, sweet startup life.
But the highlight of the day was really a pitch competition featuring some pretty decent cash prizes. Among the winners are some familiar faces and names you might want to keep on your radar.

• Oratio: Engineering student Danish Dhamani pitched this one at College Pitch Philly in February, back when it was called SayUmm. The platform tracks the “umms” and “ehhhs” in users’ speech patterns to improve their speaking skills. Dhamani landed the first spot in the competition and scored a big check for $12,500.
• AnneeLondon: Remember that foldable bike helmet from Philly Startup Leaders’ accelerator? Founder Rachel Benyola donned the helmet one more time and scored a nifty $7,500.
• Boost Linguistics: Third but not least, founder Ethan Bresnahan pitched judges once again on this platform that leverages linguistics to analyze marketing content and improve its efficacy. We approve. So did the judges, who gave Bresnahan a $5,000 check.

“Drexel Startup Day 2016 was a showcase of entrepreneurship across Drexel and in all of its forms,” Chuck Sacco, director of Drexel’s Laurence A. Baiada Institute for Entrepreneurship, told Drexel’s News Blog. “Attendees heard stories of how entrepreneurs got started, how they overcame early challenges and how they are moving ahead.”

We had a fantastic time at this year's #DrexelStartupDay! Thank you to all who participated & made Friday a success. https://t.co/Qdu2fb6Dgz pic.twitter.com/Hz0Ygmx1fL

— Charles D. Close School of Entrepreneurship (@TheCloseSchool) November 14, 2016

Speaking of moving ahead: often we hear investors say they evaluate founders just as much as the ideas they present before dropping that cash. This trio of founders already has some practice in pitching, so there’s a good chance their next move involves a term sheet. We’ll be watching.