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2025 University-Wide Innovation Competition

Sac State University-Wide Innovation Competition

The Sacramento State University-Wide Innovation Competition is an opportunity for student innovators and entrepreneurs to showcase their ideas, technologies, and/or businesses while receiving mentorship, and the opportunity to win prize money and experience personal development.

Two Students pitch plant nursery

Innovation and startup applications are accepted from across the campus, from any College, Department or Center.
All majors are welcome!

About the University-Wide Innovation Competition

If you are a student - innovator, researcher, or entrepreneur looking to, or already working on, building a venture or turning an idea into reality, the University-Wide Innovation Competition is for you. The pitch competition is open to all majors and provides innovative student ideas, technologies, and/or startups with the opportunity to compete for cash prizes. In addition, students can go on to experience other opportunities for undergraduate pitch events such as e-Fest.

Female student pitching her startup venture.

Finalists will be chosen on the strength of their slide deck and answers to these questions:

  • What problem are you working to address and who has this specific problem?
  • What is your proposed solution to this problem?
  • How do you plan on making this business idea sustainable (revenue streams, costs, etc.)?

2025 Winners

Gulp 1st position winners S2025

1st Place Winner: Team Gulp

  • Derian Godoy-Chavez
  • Ben Duong
  • Nicholas Eowa
  • Long Nguyen
  • Brayan Mejia Nunez
  • Uhmang Vadhar

Team Splash 2nd position holder 2025

2nd Place Winner: Team Splash

  • Gabriel Sigala

head shot x 3rd place s2025 university wide winner

3rd place winner: Team HeadShotX

  • Cody Kneale
  • Andrew Paolo Solbjor

2024 Winners

1st Place Winner: Garrett Gillette, founder of Vael

1st Place Winner: Vael
Garrett Gillette, founder of Vael, a privacy-focused, estate settlement software solution for the digital age.

safeguardai 2nd position winner 2024

Second Place Winners: SafeGuard AI (now SentrySight)

Team Azuki‘s venture, SafeGuard AI, is a solution to prevent school shootings with an AI prediction/monitoring system.

Fresh from winning the inaugural AI Hackathon. the newly-formed team represents ECS and includes:

  • John Son Dong
  • Huy Duy Dao
  • Gavin Garcia
  • Enrique De La Torre
  • Ritchie Martinez

CSU Startup Launch Competition

Both teams went on to compete in the CSU Startup Launch Competition and won prizes there!

Students win BIG!