The University of North Texas put student innovation on center stage during the Breakthrough Venture Competition, hosted by the Murphy Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation in the G. Brint Ryan College of Business. Open to all undergraduate and graduate students, this new competition gave emerging entrepreneurs a platform to transform their ideas into viable ventures through mentorship, hands-on learning, and a multi-round pitch process.

More than $30,000 in prize funding was awarded throughout the event thanks to support from the UNT President’s Office and The Bob Kimmel Student Entrepreneurial Innovation Endowment Fund. Early-round winners received $1,000 prizes for top concepts and plans, while later rounds provided $5,000 awards to high-scoring teams. The overall winner earned a grand prize of up to $15,000, along with in-kind professional services such as legal, accounting, and IT support to help move their venture forward.

The three finalists 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 three student finalist groups included:

• Ambarish Kumar – Ph.D. Candidate, Biology
• Rehan Younas Malick – M.S. Student, Artificial Intelligence
• Mariam Athumani, Georgia Doan, Skylar Latimore, Diane Williams – NeoFlux Team, Undergraduates

After careful deliberation, the judges selected NeoFlux as the grand prize winner for its innovative long-term catheter designed specifically for women. The team presented detailed research and product renderings centered on comfort, sustainability, and reducing risk of infection. Additionally, the team hopes to bring subscription-based training to hospitals for those using the DAWL (Doan, Athumani, Williams, Latimore) Catheter.

“In the medical field, women's health is often overlooked, so our team felt strongly about centering our project around this critical need,” the team said. “The funding we received will support our next steps, including pursuing a patent and continuing research and development beyond Senior Design.” 

Beyond the financial awards, the competition offered students one of UNT’s most impactful experiential learning opportunities. Participants gained real-world experience in business modeling, pitching, and strategic planning while working closely with mentors and industry experts from the Murphy Center’s network.

“The most valuable part of the Breakthrough Venture experience has been learning how to transform a technical idea into a clear, compelling business pitch—even though none of us come from a business background,” the NeoFlux team said. “This competition allowed us to showcase our passion for our device and for advancing women's health, and it reinforced that we have the potential to make a meaningful impact. This experience has shaped our perspective as student entrepreneurs by inspiring us to continue innovating and to pursue the development of future medical devices.”

By empowering students to grow and launch their ideas, the Breakthrough Venture Competition continues to advance UNT’s mission of fostering the next generation of innovators and changemakers. 

“Our students continue to prove that big ideas don’t have to wait until after graduation. Competitions like this give them a place to launch those ideas and hear feedback,” said Jon McCarry, Executive Director of the Murphy Center. “This semester’s finalists showed an incredible level of creativity and determination, and we’re proud to help them bring these ideas to life.”