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'''Grab-A-Bite'''
Grab A Bite is a Social Food Network that engages users and helps increase restaurants customer traffic through marketing, ease of use and convenience that came to UMass Lowell’s DifferenceMaker DifferenceMaker™ program to steer the idea in the right direction. Providing online ordering, online reservations, food deals, online menus and DSC_5122easily retrievable information such as handicap accessibility and hours, Grab-a-Bite is pushing to be the biggest online food service in the market. The team is made up of Aldo Beqiraj, Denis Lemos, Andrew MacRobert and Andrew Webb.
In addition to the funds won through DifferenceMakers’ DifferenceMaker™s’ “First to Market” Idea Challenge, this team has also had a very successful crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo that can be seen here: [http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/grab-a-bite http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/grab-a-bite]<br/><br/>Grab-a-Bite has also been recognized by the Boston Globe and was the people choice at the Mass Innovation Foodie Night. Most recently Founder and CEO Aldo Beqiraj presented a Grab-a-Bite pitch at UMass Lowell’s new student convocation to over 1,500 new students who texted voted and awarded Grab-a-Bite $1,500 to continue to move their project forward. The team is currently in the process of redesigning their website and mobile applications to launch themselves forward.
'''NonSpec (formerly Developing Nations Prosthetic)'''
Nonspec participated in the 2013 first annual DifferenceMaker DifferenceMaker™ Idea Challenge where they showed dedication and enthusiasm by attending each educational workshop and event throughout the process which aided in their success. At the Idea Challenge they received the prestigious title of “The Campus Wide DifferenceMaker” DifferenceMaker™” and the top award of $5,000. This top prize represents the project most likely to make a significant difference in the community, region and the world.
The $5,000 award has allowed Nonspec to move their initiative forward by creating their first batch of prosthetic limbs. With a projected 15% market share in the next five years, Nonspec plans to use this market presence to launch a foundation called “Give a Hand”. The purpose of this foundation would be to spread their mission, goals, charitable cause, and products around the world in order to make a difference in developing nations.
Since Nonspec’s success at the Idea Challenge they have gained great publicity in other arenas. They were recently named one of the top 10 semi-finalists in Entrepreneur® Magazine’s “College Entrepreneur of 2013 Contest”. In addition, they were invited to attend The International Association of Plastics Distribution (IAPD) “Plastics Application Design Competition”, which will be held on October 2, 2013 in Miami Florida. They will have 20 minutes to present their project to a live audience and answer any field questions that may arise. Lastly, the team was utilized as a role model by being featured in a video that was shown at all DifferenceMaker DifferenceMaker™ freshman orientation sessions throughout the summer [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLwLg4XHrck http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLwLg4XHrck] due to their motivation and high entrepreneurial spirits.
The Robotic Feeding Arm is designed to feed people in need with the proper proportion of food in each spoonful. This technology will make the health care facilities staff more effective with their time and increase productivity while giving some independence back to the patients in need. “Eating can be a stressful, rushed experience when relying on others especially in assistive care facilities that are understaffed,” said Philip Colangelo when asked about his project.
Philip entered his technology in the first annual 2013 DifferenceMaker DifferenceMaker™ Idea Challenge. After progressing through a series of workshops to help prepare and refine his idea, he was selected to pitch in the Preliminary Round of the Idea Challenge. After impressing the judges in the semi-finals, Philip progressed to the final round of the Idea Challenge. After a three minute rocket pitch to a panel of alumni judges, the Robotic Feeding Arm was awarded first place in the “Innovative Technology” category which was a $3,500 award. The Innovative Technology award represents a new technology that has the potential to change an industry, as well as change the lives of the people who use it.
Since the Idea Challenge, Philip has entered the Robotic Feeding Arm into the Merrimack Valley Sandbox Accelerator Program which gave him insight towards getting his product into the marketplace. Philip also plans on incorporating the Robotic Feeding Arm into his master’s thesis by implementing new technology into the device, therefore making it more adaptable to nursing homes and other assistive care facilities.
Lowell Sprouts is an organization focusing on providing gardening spaces on school grounds, senior centers, and the many rooftops of Lowell. Along with pushing the planting of gardens in Lowell, a focus is also put on educating the community about alternative ways gardens can be grown in urban places like Lowell, and to teach the community as a whole that crops can be grown and harvested in an urban environment.
The team is made up of Mary Beth Burwood (Alumni), Sean Hicks (Junior in Marketing), and Christopher Horne (Junior in Economics), who came together in the DifferenceMaker DifferenceMaker™ Idea Challenge to win the $3,500 first place award in the Sustainable Environment category.
Following the Idea Challenge, Lowell Sprouts shifted their focus from elementary and middle school education and rooftop planting to building sustainable green roofs around Lowell. The team gathered more funding throughout the summer, including a spot on a Merrimac Valley Sandbox video. They plan to create a green Lowell presence that will educate the community on urban garden growing and help grow rooftop gardens on various buildings around Greater Lowell.
Ramez Antoun, a double River Hawk, founded PointStick after receiving a bachelor’s (10’) and master’s degree (13’) in Physical Therapy from UMass Lowell. He then recruited a Graphic Design major (10’), Nicholas Bleil to help work on and market the product. Ramez and Nicholas then recruited two additional students; Mike Tadros and Robert Roufail, alumnus from Northeastern University with majors in business and engineering, respectively.
After hearing and learning about the DifferenceMaker DifferenceMaker™ Program, PointStick was ready to apply for the DifferenceMaker DifferenceMaker™ Idea Challenge. Here they pitched their idea to a panel of alumni judges in the preliminary round. The judges then decided to move them onto the final round. In the finals of the Idea Challenge the judges awarded PointStick 2<sup>nd</sup> place in the “First to Market” award category. This came with a prize of $1,500 that the team could utilize to move their idea forward. In addition, they gained access to other DifferenceMaker DifferenceMaker™ resources including space, networking, mentors and additional funding opportunities. A video of their pitch to the judges can be found here: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpqdUeF8DKk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpqdUeF8DKk]
Since the Idea Challenge the team has focused primarily on beginning their careers. In fall 2013, Ramez accepted a residency position in Vallejo California where he is currently residing. Robert also accepted an engineering position in Michigan. After speaking to Ramez, the team leader, he insisted that his team is still willing to collaborate on the project from across the country to further its success. They are currently in the process of researching the intellectual property of the PointStick to ensure they do not infringe on any current issued patents.
In the first series of curriculum, over 40 children joined. This outlines the importance of Healthy Habits within the community.
The team entered the 2013 DifferenceMaker DifferenceMaker™ Idea Challenge where they pitched their project to a panel of judges. The team won first place in the category called “Significant Social Impact”, and was awarded $3,500 to further implement their idea. This team is proof that business expertise is not necessary to implement and pursue a project or idea.
The Healthy Habits team graduated in May 2013 and continued on to becoming certified nurses. Since then, The Community Health Club (CHEC) at UMass Lowell has become the new leader of Healthy Habits and will continue to implement the project within the community and region.