Nine Auburn Engineering students among Tiger Cage Business Idea semifinalists

Nine Auburn Engineering students representing five of 10 teams will compete in the Tiger Cage Business Idea Competition semifinals Feb. 24 at Horton-Hardgrave Hall’s Broadway Event Space and Theater.

Teams reaching the semifinals are:

Abglo: A physical fitness device that provides visual feedback to correct lumbar posture that can be used in gyms, rehab centers, personal training sessions and at home (Courtney Montague, computer science and software engineering, and Holli Michaels, industrial and systems engineering).

Archangel Defense: A provider of customized equipment for any combat situation imaginable, designed for peak mission performance to make sure everyone who defends our country makes it home (Shay Pilcher, mechanical engineering).

Dropllel: An accurate, rapid and cost-effective detection of viruses, successfully lowering the possibility of large-scale spread. (Parvin Fathi-Hafshejani, electrical and computer engineering).

Hyper Transport: A software service that will automate the process for truck drivers to find a load (Deon Wise and Justin Cook, aerospace engineering).

OMNIS: A peer-to-peer social platform that allows individuals to borrow money through the community with short-term, micro-loans that meet their immediate needs (Zakariya Veasey, Evan Henley and Nnamdi Ikenna-Obi, computer science and software engineering).

Other teams representing the Harbert College of Business, College of Liberal Arts, College of Agriculture and College of Veterinary Medicine will also compete. The top four teams from the semifinal round, as chosen by industry professional judges, will compete March 31 for $54,000 in early-stage startup capital, in the Tiger Cage final round.

“We are delighted with the diversity of startup ideas and the quality of the student teams participating in this year’s competition,” said Lou Bifano, Director, New Venture Accelerator at the Harbert College of Business. “Every year we see better ideas and better presentations. The collection of presentations this year might have been the best yet.”

In its ninth year, Tiger Cage provides students with business plan development opportunities from mentors and seasoned entrepreneurs throughout the fall and spring semesters that culminate in quarterfinal, semifinal and final round live pitch competitions before judges. Engineering students or alums have won first place eight times, including Emmett Deen last spring.