Demo Week 2024

CCNY and CUNY student-led startup ventures awarded $80k in prizes from the Zahn Innovation Center and Standard Chartered Women in Tech Incubator and Competition Program

The Zahn Innovation Center at The City College of New York (CCNY) awarded prizes to 8 student-led startup ventures during its 2024 Demo Week activities May 7 - May 9, 2024.

The Zahn Innovation Center’s 2024 Demo Week provided 14 qualified ventures the opportunity to pitch to panels of expert judges and compete for prizes to continue the development of their startups. Demo Week was the culmination of a semester-long extra-curricular incubator program, serving more than 55 CCNY and CUNY undergraduate and graduate students as well as community colleagues. 

The teams in this year’s cohort reflect the Zahn Innovation Center’s reach across campus and the CUNY system, with many of the finalist teams coming out of earlier programs including CiPASS, Biomedical Engineering Society Biodesign Challenge, Blackstone LaunchPad, and CUNYStartups or through ongoing partnerships with capstone engineering design courses.

After a series of in-person events hosted at Standard Chartered Bank and Dechert, LLP, a panel of judges awarded four $15,000 grand prizes and four $5,000 second place prizes.

Kaylie Hardware:

CarbonCLAIR (Grand Prize winner $15K) 

Team members - Fares Al-lahabi (Manhattan College sophomore in Mechanical Engineering), Elsa Cobaj (CCNY sophomore in Mechanical Engineering), Dominick Gordon (CCNY junior in Computer Science), Naeema Haque (CCNY 2024 alumnus in Environmental Earth Systems Science), Jeremie Laveau (CCNY junior in Mechanical Engineering)

CarbonCLAIR is a carbon-capturing system that sustainably filters particulate matter, improving air quality and livelihood in urban cities for vulnerable populations with greater respiratory needs while meeting your building standard demands.

"We were thrilled to be announced as the grand prize winner for The Zahn Innovation Center 2024 cohort,” said Fares Al-lahabi. “This victory validates our hard work and fuels our vision for CarbonCLAIR's future. Combined with a recent collaboration with Mount Sinai, we're ready to scale up and seek new funding to make a real impact on air quality and sustainability."

ZoneCast (Second Place Prize winner $5K)

Team members - Karim Toufiq (CCNY 2023 alumnus in Economics), Miguel Carpio (The College of Saint Rose alumnus in 2023)

ZoneCast is a camera system designed to bring a professional and forward-thinking style of play to amateur baseball.

Standard Chartered Women+Tech:

Easy Meets (Grand Prize winner $15K)

Team members - Marwah Alzandani (College of Staten Island senior in Business), Basmalla Attia (Baruch senior in Business and Political Science), Adam Kostandy (College of Staten Island senior in Computer Science)

Easy Meets is a marketplace that simplifies planning hangouts & trips for groups or individuals and provides businesses with valuable information about potential customers.

“We are honored to be recognized for our innovative venture,” said Marwh Alzandani of Easy Meets. “We’ve enjoyed our time at the Zahn Center, and this experience has provided invaluable mentorship, support, opportunities, and resources. We are incredibly grateful to the Zahn Center staff and Standard Chartered and look forward to leveraging this experience to create more positive change.”

AutoTENS (Second Place Prize winner $5K)

Team members - Asala Ahmad (CCNY senior in Biomedical Engineering), Rachel Ioffe (CCNY sophomore in Biomedical Engineering), Matthew Saw (CCNY junior in Biomedical Engineering), Tejaswini Sudhakar (CCNY senior in Biomedical Engineering), Arihant Tiwari (CCNY Sophomore in Computer Science)

AutoTENS is a biotech startup focused on automating lower back pain relief.

Zahn Social Impact:

Inclusify (Grand Prize winner $15K)

Team members - Najia Jahan (CCNY senior in Computer Science), Myesha Mahazabeen (CCNY senior in Computer Science), Bryan Martinez (CCNY senior in Computer Science)

Inclusify is an inclusive video resume web application designed to help job seekers, especially those with ASD and developmental disabilities, to effectively showcase their unique stories and strengths through creating personalized video resumes.

“With plans to collaborate with the Goodwill organization, our journey with Inclusify has been truly transformative,” said Myesha Mahazabeen. “Learnings from the Zahn Innovation Center, coupled with our embrace of empathy-driven design, have shaped Inclusify into a product that authentically serves and empowers its users.” 

EmployAble (Second Place Prize winner $5K)

Team members - Kazi Sadman (CCNY senior in Computer Science), James Zou (CCNY senior in Computer Science)

EmployAble is a performance observation platform used in vocational rehabilitation programs.

Zahn Software:

ArenaUnity (Grand Prize winner $15K)

Team members - Samin Chowdhury (CCNY sophomore in Computer Science), Daniel Shmir (Baruch sophomore in Financial Mathematics), Daniel Ukolov (CCNY junior in Statistics and Quantitative Modeling)

ArenaUnity is an app connecting players to impromptu sport matches and compatible teammates.

“I learned the importance of adaptability in the face of challenges and changing circumstances,” said Samin Chowdhury of ArenaUnity. “Startups often encounter unexpected obstacles, market shifts, or feedback that necessitate quick pivots. Being able to adapt to new information and adjust strategies accordingly is crucial for survival and growth in the dynamic startup ecosystem.”

Savvy (Second Place Prize winner $5K)

Team members - Melody Lew (Baruch first year student in Operations Management and Analytics) , Ryan Lau (CCNY first year student in Computer Science), Kevin Wang (CCNY first year student in Computer Science)

Savvy is an AI-powered website that gives personalized tech product recommendations to online shoppers.

Final Pitch Judging Panel:

• Evelina Bonfim: Booking Holdings | Senior Treasury Analyst
• Natasha Kwakwa: Standard Chartered Bank | Global Head, Community Impact, Corporate Affairs, Brand & Marketing
• Peter Zahn: Local Policy Lab | Co-Founder and VP Strategy

Fares Al-lahabi (Manhattan College sophomore in Mechanical Engineering, Jeremie Laveau (CCNY junior in Mechanical Engineering), and Dominick Gordon (CCNY junior in Computer Science), pitch CarbonCLAIR in the Zahn Innovation Center’s 2024 Final Pitch competition.

Asala Ahmad (CCNY senior in Biomedical Engineering) shares her vision for AutoTENS, one of the finalists in the Standard Chartered Women+Tech track.

Najia Jahan (CCNY senior in Computer Science), Myesha Mahazabeen (CCNY senior in Computer Science), and Bryan Martinez (CCNY senior in Computer Science) pitch their startup Inclusify to win $15k in the Zahn Innovation Center’s Social Impact Track.

ArenaUnity, including Samin Chowdhury (CCNY sophomore in Computer Science), Daniel Shmir (Baruch sophomore in Financial Mathematics), and Daniel Ukolov (CCNY junior in Statistics and Quantitative Modeling) answer questions from judges Peter Zahn, Natasha Kwakwa, and Evalina Bonfim at Dechert, LLP on May 9, 2024.