NEW YORK—While the pandemic has had a dramatic influence on the hospitality, tourism, and meals and beverage sectors, it has not stifled the innovation wanted to create new enterprise ventures. In reality, it has fueled even better resourcefulness, creativity, and entrepreneurship.
This was obvious within the latest announcement of the inaugural “Pitch Your Passion & Seal the Deal” competitors, hosted by the Hospitality Innovation Hub Incubator throughout the Hospitality Innovation Hub (HI Hub) of the NYU School of Professional Studies Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality. While the Tisch Center is thought throughout the business, its HI Hub was launched in late August 2021 and serves as a spot to convene business professionals, entrepreneurs, and college students with concepts for brand spanking new ventures whereas offering mentorship for NYU affiliated start-up companies.
The “Pitch Your Passion & Seal the Deal” competitors was designed to stimulate concepts for brand spanking new business innovation by cultivating a aggressive course of that identifies and funds fledging companies in sectors which have wanted to evolve to not solely survive however thrive.
“Through the new HI Hub and this competition, the Tisch Center of Hospitality has established itself as a place where innovation and entrepreneurship are front and center in serving the industry, our students, and emerging entrepreneurs who are using the disruption we are experiencing to their advantage,” stated Nicolas Graf, Jonathan M. Tisch Center of Hospitality chaired professor and affiliate dean of the Tisch Center.
After receiving submissions for quite a few start-ups, six finalists—Dinesurf, Hotel+, Kenta Ramen, Our Vintage Earth, Swagger Gaming, and Urban Safe—have been chosen by a bunch of business consultants who function advisers to the HI Hub together with Tisch college members and directors. Kenta Ramen, which affords autonomous micro-retail for ready-to-eat, genuine Japanese ramen delivered inside 45 seconds, received the first-place prize of $10,000.
“Automation in the industry is imminent. Ideally, Kenta Ramen will be like Sweetgreen or Shake Shack (but for gourmet ramen and Japanese cuisine) all delivered with sustainability, automation, and convenience,” stated founder Daniel Liu, who graduated from the NYU School of Professional Studies MS in Management and Systems diploma in 2019. “The mentorship provided by the HI Hub incubator program enabled our project to move forward in a variety of ways including establishing product-market fit, planning the initial launch, and team building.”
The second and third place winners have been DineSurf, a restaurant reservation platform for diners in Africa that helps them to search out locations to eat and supplies a hassle-free reservation system, and Swagger, a sports activities prediction platform that empowers sports activities followers of all talent ranges to foretell stay sports activities outcomes. They every acquired $5,000 in funding.
“The business sectors we serve have suffered some of the greatest losses during the pandemic, yet these industries are incredibly resilient in being able to reinvent themselves in new ways. The early success of the HI Hub and the incredible ideas generated by this competition are a testament to a growing and emerging group of entrepreneurs who have what it takes to rise above adversity and shape the future of this industry,” concluded Recep Karaburun, DPS, scientific assistant professor of hospitality and tourism, and director of the HI Hub Incubator on the Tisch Center. “We are looking forward to receiving many more innovative ideas from NYU students and alumni that we can work to bring to life through the Hospitality Innovation Hub Incubator. Our new spring cohort application is now open and NYU alumni and students can apply here.”