Written by Nada Miljkovic

3 Days. 23 Student Teams. $10,000+ in Prizes.

The Ideathon 2025, the first pitch event of the academic year, brought three days of bold ideas, big energy, and student innovation to the UCSC campus. Over the weekend of October 17th, 23 student teams turned ideas into action, competing for more than $10,000 in prizes and a chance to launch their next big venture.

In just one weekend, participants went from idea → pitch → funding, gaining the kickstart needed to scale their concepts into real businesses.

The Startup Club co-President Alexander Aghili

Hosted by UC Santa Cruz’s Startup Club (formerly SCEE) with strong support from the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Development (CIED), and sponsorship from the Innovation & Business Engagement Hub (IBE Hub) and QB3, the Ideathon also drew local partners including Santa Cruz Works and Pleasure Pizza, fueling creativity and collaboration throughout the weekend.

Together, these partners created an inspiring kickoff to the academic year — a space where students transformed classroom curiosity and research into entrepreneurial action with the potential to grow far beyond the event.

The Ideathon format fueled rapid creativity: a high-energy kickoff, two hands-on workshops, and a finale pitch showdown on Sunday afternoon where teams turned insight into impact — and walked away with funding to bring their ideas to life.

Champions of the Future

Awards were presented across four categories that reflect today’s most active innovation frontiers:

Artificial Intelligence
Service Business/Agency
BioTech
Hardware & Devices

🏆 2025 Ideathon Winners

BioTech
1st Place - SEOS – AI-powered early detection for deadly newborn conditions
2nd Place - SkinPrint Bio – 3D bioprinted skin designed to dramatically reduce animal testing
3rd Place - Kaira – A digital women’s wellness platform focused on care, access, and dignity

Winners: From Left to right, Rayna Borah (SEOS), Brinly Richards (Kaira), Shruti Kale & Pallavi Chekka (SkinPrint Bio), Laurena Chen (Reverie AI), Iman Yael Schaefer (Flip Commerce)

Artificial Intelligence
1st Place - Resynch – Transforming talent in the modern workforce through AI-enhanced training
2nd Place - Reverie – A more accurate and accessible approach to music notation transcription
3rd Place - HeyMarin – A zero-click virtual intern ready to learn tasks on the fly

Service Business/Agency
1st Place - Flip Commerce – Helping brands recover capital and unlock digital sales from unsold inventory
2nd Place - AirCheck – A mobile emergency checklist designed to support pilots during critical aviation events
3rd Place - SlugNest – Tackling student housing challenges by tapping into unused local hotel rooms

Hardware & Devices
1st Place - BetterKey – A smart home key that keeps security simple, intuitive, and always in your hands

Every one of these student founders brought curiosity that turned into insight — and insight that turned into action. Their courage to tackle real problems reminds us why events like Ideathon matter: they’re not just about competition, but about building the next generation of innovators who will shape the future.

This year’s competition delivered something truly special: women-led teams won in every category except Hardware and dominated the BioTech awards. Their brilliance, compassion, and scientific courage set the tone for the competition and filled the room with a collective sense of what’s possible when diverse voices lead the way in innovation spaces.

Who Decides the Future? A Stellar Panel of Judges

I had the honor of serving as one of five judges evaluating the pitches. Alongside me sat an exceptional lineup of Santa Cruz innovation leaders:

From Left to Right:

Dr. Ed Green – Genomics pioneer, professor, and biotech innovator and founder
Ishaan Bansal – Startup strategist, founder, and former Startup Club President
Sol Lipman – Serial entrepreneur and community-forward technologist
Jay Hamlin – Seasoned electrical engineer maker innovator
And me, Nada Miljković – Educator and entrepreneurship advocate cheering on the next generation

We listened for clarity, creativity, market potential, and the magic spark that says…this could work.

What Makes a Winning Pitch?

Short pitches. Big expectations. Powerful ideas.

Each team had just two minutes to convince us they understood a real problem and had a smart, feasible way to solve it. Judging focused on:

Problem Definition & Insight
Solution & Feasibility
Customer Discovery & Validation
Team Capability & Execution
Market & Impact Potential
Competitive Differentiation
Presentation & Communication
Q&A Professionalism

More Than a Competition

Beyond the impressive ideas, it was the determination behind them that defined this year’s Ideathon. Over one intense weekend, students challenged assumptions, built prototypes, and brainstormed late into the night. Workshops led by Sol Lipman and Ben Legum, founder of Muse Engine and Director of New Venture Development at the UCSC IBE Hub, equipped participants with tools and strategies to bring their concepts to life.

The Ideathon reminds us that innovation isn’t a solo act — it’s collaboration, curiosity, and courage stitched together by action. Each student founder transformed insight into impact, showing why events like Ideathon matter: they’re not just competitions, but catalysts for the next generation of innovators shaping the future.

Full Circle: From Idea to Legacy

Rayna Borah pitching this year’s BioTech winner SEOS

In just three years, Ideathon has evolved from an experiment into the cornerstone of UC Santa Cruz’s pitch competition track: a yearlong sequence that continues with Demo Day later this Fall Quarter, SlugTank in March 2026, and Launchpad in May 2026. The Startup Club continues to grow and thrive as a student-led engine of possibility, CIED remains dedicated to empowering hands-on learning, and partners like IBE Hub and QB3 ensure students have pathways far beyond the pitch. Community partners such as Santa Cruz Works and Pleasure Pizza further amplify this ecosystem, bringing the broader Santa Cruz community into the heart of student innovation.

And in a beautiful full-circle moment — the student founder who first came to CIED four years ago with the idea to launch the Ideathon has since graduated, but his sister, now a freshman, carried on his legacy by winning the BioTech award. It’s a powerful reminder that once a spark of innovation is lit, it continues to inspire new generations of founders at UC Santa Cruz.

Want to be part of the story?
We’re always looking for mentors, judges, and sponsors to join our community and help shape the next wave of innovators. The momentum is just getting started this year — our pitch competition track continues with Demo Day, SlugTank, and Launchpad, offering even more ways to get involved and make a lasting impact.

Reach out to CIED@ucsc.edu to learn more or to join our growing community of innovation champions.