Elmhurst Entrepeneurs Bluejay Tank Competition

The Bluejay Tank seeks to provide an exciting, educational experience while challenging students’ creativity and entrepreneurship skills. With $2,500 in prizes at stake, the winners can use their prize to accelerate their innovative ideas to the next phase of development.

The inaugural Bluejay Tank competition was held on Oct. 21, 2020. Finalists presented to a panel of successful entrepreneurs—Quincy Banks ’00, Erald Minga ’08, Mark Heintz and Dr. Bruce Fischer. The moderator for the event was Elmhurst’s Entrepreneur in Residence, Patrick Yanahan ’94 MBA ’10.

2020 Winners

First Place ($1,500): Michael Foytlin

• Proposed Innovation: New Age Solutions
  An automated, efficient, and intelligent tool that greatly aids new grads in finding employment through automated LinkedIn networking.

Second Place ($750): Jasmine Lillis

• Proposed Innovation: Walking Through History
  This exercise app notifies the user when they are close to historical sites, and the more locations they visit the more points they can accrue to gain discount codes to local businesses and restaurants.

Third Place ($250): Vanessa Sevilla

• Proposed Innovation: United Leadership Pathway
  The United Leadership Pathway is a non-profit organization, designed to develop undergraduate leaders across the country, and give colleges an extra edge by bringing the community together through shared connections and mutual ties.

2020 Finalists

• Aman Dhiman
  Proposed Innovation: StopLight
  Stoplight is a simple solution inspired from traffic lights which will tell drivers stopping on the stop signs when to stop or go at a stop sign. Stoplight is a faster solution avoiding confusions and deadly car accidents but also pedestrian accidents that occur at stop sign intersections.
• Bahareh Tabrizi
  Proposed Innovation: IdeaShare
  A platform inclusive of all graduate and undergraduate majors at Elmhurst. It is similar to an internship but with both educational as well as entertainment aspects. Groups are separated but can collaborate if they wish. We have a leader for each group, and that leader can consult with their program director in order to instruct the group.
• Djordje Mrkajic
  Proposed Innovation: Conquest Fitness
  A specialized personal training service providing fitness, boxing and self-defense training.
• Jared Plotka
  Proposed Innovation: Clearance Department Chicago
  Relying on thorough product research, products that aren’t sold by individual sellers on Amazon and eBay are identified, purchased and then drop-shipped through a technique called Retail Arbitrage providing a small profit percentage on each item.