Eight student teams on a mission to make a positive impact on society presented their startup ideas to a panel of expert judges during the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize “Bark Tank” Pitch Competition on Wednesday, January 22, 2025, at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, taking home $150,000 in prizes.
Inspired by the pitches, Ted Leonsis (C’77, P’14, ’15), founder, chairman, principal, and chief executive officer of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and his family increased the competition’s prize pool to $150,000 – furthering the financial impact and growth opportunity for each of the finalists who took the stage. This year’s prize builds on the $5 million gift the Leonsis family provided last year, which ensures the Bark Tank Pitch Competition exists in perpetuity.
“What everyone built here is really remarkable,” said Leonsis, who addressed the crowd during the event. “It’s the social responsibility of our universities to drive our entrepreneurial spirit because at the end of the day, we’re an entrepreneurial nation.”
Leonsis shared his journey to becoming an entrepreneur and the role that Georgetown played throughout his career, which was the original inspiration for the Bark Tank Pitch Competition – to drive innovation and celebrate passionate entrepreneurs in the Washington, D.C., region and beyond.
“Bark Tank is a prize,” Leonsis said. “The money we give here is just a gift to the entrepreneurs – dollars to get someone started.” Leonsis highlighted several Georgetown alumni – many of whom were sitting in the crowd – who used the prize from Bark Tank to scale their companies and create ventures of impact. He noted how far entrepreneurship programs at Georgetown have come and encouraged the audience to continue to support entrepreneurship and empower future innovators to make a positive difference in the world.
The 2025 Bark Tank winners were announced during the event:
Hilda won the grand prize of $30,000, earning recognition as ‘Bark Tank’s Top Dog’ in this year’s competition. They also received the $5,000 People’s Choice Award. Led by Andres Brillembourg (SFS’17, MBA’24), Hilda is the first AI recruiting assistant that lets home care providers meet top candidates 10 times faster at 1/20 of the cost by engaging applicants, screening them, and scheduling interviews in minutes rather than days or weeks. It is led by Andres Brillembourg (SFS’17, MBA’24).
Gateway tied for the second place $25,000 prize. Led by Hanh Linh Ho (MBA’24), Gateway makes it effortless for employers to transform their lengthy, complex onboarding and training into organized, inspiring micro-learning that saves 95% of the time and cost while accelerating ramp-up time and knowledge retention by 75%.
Provision Surgical also won second place, receiving $25,000. Led by Joyce Wang (M’25), Provision Surgical offers intraoperative surgical navigation using machine-learning-powered augmented reality (AR) technology to improve surgical accuracy in implant positioning in orthopedic surgery.
Nyxara tied for third place, receiving $20,000. Imagine a world where you can download an entire Netflix library in five seconds and stay connected in remote places like the Amazon jungle or a Montana ranch. Nyxara makes this possible with high-speed, secure optical communication systems that efficiently move massive amounts of data from ground to satellite at affordable rates, and is led by Gulmohar Ahluwalia (MBA’24) and Ian Akisoglu.
Serenity Robotic Lawncare also won the third place $20,000 prize. Serenity leverages AI and robotic lawn mowers to simplify the customer sign-up process, elevate service quality, and combat the lawn care industry’s contribution of over 25 million tons of pollution annually. It is led by Kevin Boodram (L’27).
Ocuclips tied for the fourth place $10,000 prize. Ocuclips is a patented premium eyewear accessory that alleviates discomfort while wearing headgear, such as headphones and helmets. It is led by Mohil Gupta (MBA’26).
Additionally, Hydro-Con, led by Shane Connolly (MBA’26) and Con Aldridge (MBA’26), tied for the fourth place prize of $10,000. Hydro-Con provides products that simplify bulk water sales for local municipalities.
Lastly, Clarifia, led by Vasco de Castelbajac (SFS’25) and Ryan Abdallah (B’25), received $5,000. Clarifia facilitates the commodity trading compliance process, streamlining regulation through AI.
The Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize is supported by longtime entrepreneur Ted Leonsis; his wife, Lynn; his son, Zach (MBA’15); and his daughter, Elle (C’14).
Aligning with the Jesuit values of Georgetown University, the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize honors and supports Georgetown students who have launched or are preparing to launch new business ventures that will address problems in the world around them. Ultimately, the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize builds awareness around the innovation and accomplishments of Georgetown’s entrepreneurs and strengthens the university’s reputation as a place where ambitious students can turn their passions into entrepreneurial ventures.
For more information about the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize, visit the Georgetown Entrepreneurship website or watch this year’s livestream.
Click here to read the full article.