Two entrepreneurial companies that put the power of artificial intelligence to work won top prizes in the 13th annual Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition sponsored by the College of Business at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The winners, along with other participants in this year’s competition, are poised to become part of a growing ecosystem of Sontag-related startups in northern Nevada whose founders support and counsel one another.

Sigellac for Medical, a vertically integrated developer of AI-powered software for healthcare practitioners, won the competition’s $50,000 award. The company was created by Robert “Sam” Hutton, who is pursuing a doctorate in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in applied mathematics at the University.

Ghostwryte.AI. won the competition’s Dragonfly Energy Innovation Award, which carries a $10,000 award.

The Ghostwryte team composed of computer science students Morgan Young, Jessica Nam and Hunter Africk developed an artificial-intelligence co-pilot for use by social-media ghostwriters and other content producers.

The Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition was funded by a major gift from alumnus Rick Sontag to the University in 2011. The endowment created by the gift funds a $50,000 annual award in perpetuity.

The Dragonfly Energy Innovation Award is supported by a recurring gift funded by Dragonfly Energy Corp., a Reno-based company that itself was developed as an entrant in the 2014 Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition. (Dragonfly finished second that year.) 

Hutton said Sigellac for Medical will use the prize money for further product development, and Young said the Ghostwryte team expects to use the prize money for research and development, marketing and sales. Both companies are seeking investor funding later this year.

But Hutton said the money isn’t the biggest reward of the Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition.

“This competition served as an invaluable ‘bootcamp’ in entrepreneurship for me,” he said. “While we were lucky and grateful to receive the Sontag award, the real award was baked into the Sontag process.”

Teams in the competition begin work during the fall semester, learning how to fine-tune business ideas and build a company. Many of them work with mentors that include successful entrepreneurs from the northern Nevada as well as University faculty and staff. The 29 student teams that entered this year’s represented at least 18 majors and six schools and colleges withinthe University.

This year’s final competition was judged by four successful businesspeople — Tyler Bourns, the chief marketing officer of Dragonfly Energy; Sara Lafrance, a software entrepreneur and angel investor; Miya McKenzie, a marketing executive who has worked with dozens of startups; and Chris Riche, an experienced executive whose focus currently includes startups in artificial intelligence and renewable energy.

Along with Sigellac for Medical and Ghostwryte, finalists this year included:

• Next Quest, developer of a software platform that allows musicians to build connections with audience members. Founder Jakota Wass is pursuing a degree in finance.
• GradeStacker, a web-based learning management system. It was founded by Andrew Rangel, who is pursuing degrees in business and finance; Tyler Richards, who is pursuing a master’s degree in cybersecurity; and Clayton Greb, who is studying management and marketing.
• B X Square Solar Dehydration Systems, which is focused on development of solar systems to assist farmers in Ghana and other developing nations. Its founders include Francis Boampong, who is studying statistics and data science.

Dick Bartholet, director of the Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition, said many participants over the competition’s 13-year history remain in close contact with one another as they build successful companies in Nevada. 

And many stay close to the competition itself. For instance, Matt Linder and Nico Monforte, featured speakers at this year’s finals, are former participants themselves. Their concept in the 2019 competition became the genesis of TruckHouse, the industry-leading manufacturer of expedition vehicles that they launched in Sparks.

“The support that Rick Sontag provided through his gift in 2011 continues to pay benefits for our students, and it’s having an increasing impact throughout our community,” Bartholet said. “Participants in the Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition are playing significant roles in the diversification of the region’s economy.”

The winners, along with other participants in this year’s competition, are poised to become part of a growing ecosystem of Sontag-related startups in northern Nevada whose founders support and counsel one another.