SOU Entrepreneurs Advance to State Finals
Student Teams Prototype & Pitch for $30,000 in Prize Money at the Invent Oregon Collegiate Challenge
Two teams from Southern Oregon University have advanced to the finals of the Invent Oregon Collegiate Challenge, Oregon’s premier statewide showcase for student startups. The SOU student entrepreneurs behind Music Mix and Connect Her will compete for $30,000 in venture funding this week (June 22–25).
The teams formed in a section of COMM 424 — Creative Entrepreneurship instructed by Communication Program professor Erik Palmer, then qualified for the finals by winning SOU’s inaugural Raider Demo Day in March.
Since then, the teams have also completed a rigorous prototyping and pitching bootcamp organized by Invent Oregon.
SOU’s teams include Music Mix, where music fans find a new way to connect (Autumn Micketti, Lianna Inthavong and Thomas Isenhart), and Connect Her, a safer way for professional women to network online (Sophie Haney and Russ Wonsley).
Championship week at InventOR features four days of online programming, leading up to final pitches and judging on June 25. Register to observe Friday’s finals, including a Fireside Chat with U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, here:
