UNT’s entrepreneurial spirit was on full display at the 2025 Innovate UNT Pitch Competition, held at the G. Brint Ryan College of Business on April 18. With a total of $35,000 in cash and in-kind prizes on the line, five student-led startup teams competed for the top prize in front of a panel of industry professionals, investors, and innovation leaders.

The Innovate UNT Pitch Competition (iUNT) is a campus-wide, student business competition open to all undergraduate and graduate students from UNT. The competition focuses on development of a compelling student business and helps students secure funding to help take their ventures to the next stage. This year’s final round featured an impressive mix of ventures tackling challenges in healthcare, fuel cell technology, risk tokenization, and more.

“The level of creativity and problem-solving we saw was inspiring,” said Jon McCarry, Executive Director of the Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. “Our students are not only learning the fundamentals of business, but they’re applying them in meaningful, real-world ways that have the potential to create lasting impact.”

The five finalists, who were selected from 24 total entries, presented their pitches to a panel of judges with experience in venture capital, economic development, and startup ecosystems. Each team had 15 minutes to present and answer questions from the panel. The five student finalist groups included:

• Elke Group: Chinemerem Jerry Ozoude, Asfaker Rahman 
• Resili-Fi: Ali Syed, Andres Gutierrez 
• SFTL Tech: Jonathan Stewart, Mahan Ghosh
• VeriWell: Linh Doan, Seshu Jujjavarapu, Farhan, Rahman Arnob, Renugopal Sivaprakasam, Sekhar Lanka
• ZemaLink: Chloe Nguyen 

Each of the five teams received $5,000 in seed funding to help bring their ideas closer to market thanks to UNT President, Dr. Harrison Keller. After careful deliberation, the judges awarded the grand prize of an additional $10,000 to SFTL Tech. The grand prize was funded from The Bob Kimmel Student Entrepreneurial Innovation Endowment, donated in honor of longtime supporter and donor Bob Kimmel.

“I feel that this process has helped me learn more about myself and grow in my knowledge base on how business and marketing operate,” said Jonathan Stewart, Marketing Strategist for STFL Tech and a College of Engineering student. “Additionally, I feel that this exposure to presenting to professionals challenged my public speaking skills and pushed me to grow and be more confident with myself and my knowledge base.”

SFTL Tech’s pitch focused on self-flow delignification technology developed by College of Engineering faculty Dr. Xuan Wang and Dr. Sheldon Shi. This method of wood treatment achieves 100% delignification of wood—a significant advancement over conventional pressure-treated wood, which is limited to 65–70% delignification and is energy-intensive. This technology creates fire-retardant, termite-proof, and moisture-resistant building materials that can produce translucent, shatterproof wood. This technology could replace glass and represent an opportunity to revolutionize industries like construction, sustainable design, and materials engineering.

“The most valuable part of my iUNT experience has been the opportunity to work at the intersection of cutting-edge research and real-world business strategy,” said Mahan Ghosh, Business Strategist for STFL Tech and a College of Engineering student. “Being part of iUNT exposed me to an ecosystem where innovation is not only encouraged but actively nurtured through mentorship, collaboration, and practical application.”

As iUNT continues to grow, so does the entrepreneurial community at UNT. Through opportunities like the pitch competition, the Murphy Center and the G. Brint Ryan College of Business are helping cultivate the next generation of changemakers and business leaders.

Thank you to the powerhouse panel of judges: 

• Michael Lawrence – Principal, Sentiero Ventures 
• Dr. Hubert Zajicek – CEO/Co-Founder/Partner, Health Wildcatters 
• Brittany Sotelo – Economic Development Director, City of Denton
• Elizabeth Burns – President, UNT Student Investment Group 
• Ryan Margolis – Program Manager Texas Innovation Accelerator Hub, Texas Innovation Accelerator Hub - American Cancer Society 

Additional recognition goes out to Dr. Paul Kruger in the College of Engineering, Dr. Vijay Vaidyanathan in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and Dr. Neal Smatresk for encouraging turn-out and providing quality student applications. Thank you to Dr. Pamela Padilla, Vice President for Research and Innovation, for fostering commercialization efforts on campus, and Dr. Marilyn Wiley, Dean of the Ryan College of Business, for her support of the initiative and leadership.