Wolf Den is a Shark Tank-inspired pitch competition where student teams have the opportunity to pitch their ventures in front of a live audience and judges. This year, the competition was tough with 17 student teams applying for the competition and only 5 moving to the final round. BME PhD Student Travis McKay and MA Alum Taylor Gabaldon were among the finalists who received a $600 Judge Award for their Dynamic Internal Volume Actuator (DIVA).
D.I.V.A. is a modified bag valve mask application for emergency medical technicians that optimizes mobile ventilation by being plug-and-play, adaptable, and truly portable. Finalists had three minutes to deliver their pitch and convince the judges and the audience that their idea was worth some cash money. The judge panel this year was composed of NC State alumni Téa Blumer, Ryan Clodfelter and Cathy Gomes. Each judge brought a diverse set of expertise and they had four minutes to question the pitching team. To read the official winners announcement, visit NC State Entrepreneurship news here. Many Congrats to Travis and Taylor!