UP/Start Venture Competition 2019 Winners

About the UP/Start Venture Competition:
The Up/Start Venture Competition, an initiative of MICApreneurship, focuses on incubating and building creative business ventures within the MICA community. Working with industry partners, the UP/Start Venture Competition provides mentorship and capital to help nurture venture ideas into sustainable businesses.

AMAZING INDUSTRIES, founded by Brett Wallace '19 (Studio Art M.F.A.), received $5,000 in investment funding. ​AMAZING INDUSTRIES is a R&D startup exploring the future of work in the digital age. Through the use of investigative journalism, writing, documentary video and installation and other disciplines, AMAZING INDUSTRIES researches questions such as how are new technologies, such as AI, transforming work.

GPG Technologies LLC, founded by Kyle Vaughan '19 (Design Leadership M.B.A./M.A.) and Kenneth Wayman, received $35,000 in investment funding. ​GPG Technologies is dedicated to one mission: doing the greatest possible good. The company designs sustainable solutions for people and planet. Its first product, the Saqua bottle, is a reusable water bottle that is easy to clean and elegant in its simplicity.

Greenmount Tile, founded by Ann Zellhofer '18 (Printmaking B.F.A.) and Dominique Hellgeth '10 (Ceramics B.F.A.), received $35,000 in investment funding.. Greenmount Tile is an architectural ceramics company that creates limited edition artwork. Its installations include art for public space, experimental structural design, and suspended tile.

HILARIOUS COMICS, founded by RJ Sterling '19 (Illustration B.F.A. and M.A.T.), received $20,000 in investment funding and received the $5,000 People's Choice Award. ​Hilarious Comics is a brand that seeks to redefine the term superhero while also highlighting underrepresented characters in comics, such as female characters, characters of color, and queer characters

Paint.Team, founded by Haley Manchon '18 (Drawing B.F.A.), Kelly Sullivan, and Doug Moreland, received $5,000 in investment funding. Paint.Team’s mission is to inspire creativity and collaboration through a web application that allows users to team up and create finished works of art from anywhere in the world.

CHECK OUT THIS YEAR'S competition