CSE student wins University of Minnesota BizPitch Competition
BizPitch winner with big check
CSE student Brian Balquist (right) received $2,000 from John Stavig in the Holmes Center for Entreneurship for winning the University of Minnesota BizPitch competition in December for his business Salamander Life System that monitors wastewater on livestock farms.

BizPitch is an opportunity for undergraduate students to give a 90-second pitch on a new business idea. 

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (01/26/2024)— Brian Balquist, a Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering undergraduate, won the University of Minnesota BizPitch Competition in December 2023. 

BizPitch is a University-run competition where undergraduate students have an opportunity to present a new business idea to a panel of entrepreneurs and investors. The catch–the presentation has to be 90 seconds–very similar to the TV show, “Shark Tank.”

Balquist’s new business idea is Salamander Life System, a company that would provide automated wastewater monitoring for livestock. This idea is very similar to monitoring wastewater in cities to monitor trends in viruses. 

A recipient of CSE's Adolph A. Sommerfeld Scholarship in Civil Engineering, Balquist won two categories in the competition: Most Innovative Idea and the Overall Grand Prize, which came with a check for $2,000.

Watch a video about Balquist's business idea to help livestock farmers.

 

Read the full story on the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geo- Engineering website. 

Contacts:

Rhonda Zurn, College of Science and Engineering, rzurn@umn.edu

University Public Relations, unews@umn.edu

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