JonReis.com

Big Idea organizer Bobby Frisch '13, left, poses with Big Idea winners Stephanie Ball '13 and Erica Barnell '13, along with John Jaquette Jr., director of Entrepreneurship@Cornell.

Kiersten Frenchu ’13 wanted tastier food for her grandmother, who was living in a care facility, while Erica Barnell ’13 and Stephanie Ball ’13 thought they could find a way to increase hepatitis B vaccinations among children in developing countries. They were all named winners April 19 in the Big Idea competition, sponsored by Entrepreneurship@Cornell.

Their final pitches were the culminating event in Celebration 2013, Entrepreneurship@Cornell’s annual two-day conference, which brought more than 500 alumni, faculty, staff and students to campus for networking, panel discussions, presentations and entrepreneurship celebrations.

“I know my grandmother would be proud,” Frenchu said of her win in the for-profit category of the Big Idea contest, adding that her grandmother passed away just last week.

Frenchu’s idea for a food company, ThoughtFood, came about after visiting her grandmother – who had difficulty chewing – and noticing the bland purees she was being served. Through further research she learned that many seniors at hospitals and facilities are malnourished because they lack a variety of foods and are served poor-quality foods.

“There aren’t any foods made from scratch and no savory foods or soups with flavor offered,” she said. “My foods are a great improvement in taste, quality and texture.”

JonReis.com

Jesse Orshan '13 pitches his project called ThinkPlay at the competition.

From butternut squash soup to smoothies made with fresh fruits, vegetables and protein powder, Frenchu said her products would be high in calories and nutrients and be sought after by children caring for elderly parents, as well as care facilities.

Frenchu will attend medical school in the fall but plans to continue working on her idea.

Ball and Barnell’s PharmaSEED idea would involve greenhouses built in developing countries to grow peanuts genetically modified to include vaccines. The peanuts would be ground into a paste, then given to health care providers to distribute. PharmaSEED would solve current problems with refrigeration and missed appointments as well as provide an economic engine for a community.

While they want to begin their work with hepatitis B, Barnell and Ball said the same process could be used with other viruses, such as those that cause rubella and cholera. Barnell, who plans to work in Africa next year and has worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on similar projects, said the pair has a plan to move the idea forward with help from Gates distribution channels.

Winners in the Big Idea competition were chosen by a panel of alumni judges and an audience vote. First-place winners each received $2,000. Second-place winners of $1,000 were Devin Jameson ’16 with Giver and Mikayla Diesch ‘16 with Solar Flare. Barbara Ann Force ’14 with ShelterSite and Rahul Shah ‘16 with Parrakit took home third-place awards of $500. Prizes are supported by the Vijay, M.Eng. '75, and Sita Vashee Promising Entrepreneur Award Endowment Fund.

Kathy Hovis is a writer for Entrepreneurship@Cornell.