Laboratory for IT Entrepreneurship

Transforming IT ideas into ventures

Notice. As of August 2019, the Laboratory for IT Entrepreneurship has merged with the Mason Innovation Exchange (MIX), and LITE's flagsgip program, the Pitch IT competition, has become the Patriot Pitch competion. As a result, this website is no longer maintained. For more information about current programs, visit the MIX's website.

Laboratory for I.T. Entrepreneurship
Ngyuen Engineering Building

Pitch IT History

Pitch IT 2014

The first Pitch IT Competition was held on May 2, 2014. Eight great teams competed for $1,000 in prize money. The winning teams were:

  • 1st Prize - $500
    E-Mow: Self-Fueled Drone Pellet Harvester, presented by Jason Force
  • 2nd Prize - $300
    Mason 3D LLC, presented by John Hill
  • 3rd Prize - $200
    Positive Deviancy, presented by Jade Garrett

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Pitch IT 2015

PragmaticsThe second Pitch IT Competition was held on April 10, 2015. The 2015 edition was named after our generous corporate sponsor, Pragmatics, a Northern Virginia-based company delivering innovative technology solutions to a large number of government clients. Six great teams competed for $2,000 in prize money. The winning teams were:

  • 1st Prize - $1,000
    JoosLo Charging Hub, presented by Mannan Javid
  • 2nd Prize - $500
    Linesmash, presented by Adarsh Pradeep
  • 3rd Prize - $300
    Multi-Rotor-Calc, presented by Brad McDougall
  • Audience Award - $200
    JoosLo Charging Hub, presented by Mannan Javid

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Pitch IT 2016

The third Pitch IT Competition was held on April 2, 2016. The 2016 edition received a record number of 20 applications, had the largest number of finalists, the highest attendance since its inception, and a larger judging panel than ever before. Ten great teams competed for $2,000 in prize money. The winning teams were:

  • 1st Prize- $1,000
    Cable Shield, presented by Dane Underwood, Isaac Geisler, Kumar Karra, and Felipe Cardenas
  • 2nd Prize - $500
    Biofeedback Active Sensor System (BASS), presented by Maribeth Burns, Andrew Tesnow, Sam Miller, and Amr Attyah
  • 3rd Prize - $300
    PickUp, presented by Jimi Tele, Walter Mitchell, and Edward Murphy
  • Audience Award - $200
    Peloton, presented by Kristine Mosuela and Jared Keller

The judging panel of the 2016 edition included:

  • Patrick Vandersluis
    Chief Executive Officer, HealthRx Corporation
  • Carter McClure
    Regional Manager, Mason Enterprise Center-Fairfax
  • Carolyn Klenner
    Intellectual Property & Special Projects Manager, Office of Technology Transfer, George Mason University
  • Andre Manitius
    Interim Chair, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, George Mason University
  • David Perkins
    Founder & Partner, Hyperspatial
  • Hadi Rezazad
    Chief Executive Officer, Orchid Technologies & Management

Pitch IT 2017

The third Pitch IT Competition was held on April 22, 2017. The winning teams were:

  • 1st Prize- $1,000
    Knee Motion Sensor, presented by Tony Petro, Taban Yazdani, Salima Sekandari, and Anas Alharbi
  • 2nd Prize - $500
    H2knOw, presented by Wesley Pierce, Priya Pelluru, Ali Elsawaf, and Joshua Messner
  • 3rd Prize - $300
    CrimeTeller, presented by Sang Jun Park and Sang-Hyuck Park
  • Audience Award - $200
    Magic Utility Maintenance, presented by Mohamed Khattab, Rebekah Orozco, Adnan Khan, and Fahad Alqahtani

The judging panel of the 2017 edition included:

  • Tomasz Arciszewski
    Professor Emeritus, George Mason University
  • Marcel Barbulescu
    President & Chief Operating Officer, AudioNow
  • Sean Mallon
    Associate Vice President, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, George Mason University
  • Andre Manitius
    Chair, Department of Information Sciences and Technology, George Mason University
  • Hina Mehta
    Associate Director, Office of Technology Transfer, George Mason University

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