The road of entrepreneurship isn’t an easy path to take. The journey will often be filled with unexpected obstacles to overcome, barriers of entry setting you back, and no clear sense of direction. However, through trials and tribulations, you learn how to persevere and, along the way, achieve great milestones. This is the case for four of the Oregon Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards (GSEA) finalists.
GSEA is a worldwide competition for undergraduate students who own and operate a business while attending school. Students compete against their peers from around the world in a series of local and national competitions, hoping to qualify for the finals with a grand prize of $50,000. This year, we are excited to announce the four companies that will be competing in the Oregon regional qualifier:
Bproud
A clothing company founded in 2020 by Japhety Ngabireyimana and Jospin Mugisha, Bproud LLC is focused on inspiring young adults to be proud of their individuality. Bproud believes each person possesses one quality about themselves that they should be proud of. Their clothes are a microphone for the messages they want to spread. With a goal of inspiring and educating the next generation, clothing is targeted at those between the ages of 16 and 24 years old. Bproud was a member of the 2022 cohort of The Cube, PSU’s own student incubator.
Backus Agrilabs
Starting off as a hop breeding program for microbreweries in 2021, the project would eventually evolve into Backus Agrilabs, a research company that focuses on using new ways to make agriculture practices more sustainable. Backus Agrilabs has one main goal, to address food deserts all across Portland and the rest of Oregon by providing access to fresh produce with the help of their automatic harvesting system. As a 2022 Invent Oregon participant, they honed their pitch and saw great interest from the community to continue the expansion of this project. Invent Oregon is a state-wide platform that brings resources and funding to student innovators run by the team at the PSU Center for Entrepreneurship.
Turner Automotive
Turner Automotive was founded during the 2018 Invent Oregon competition. Founder and CEO Blake Turner created Turner Automotive with a single goal: to change how we power our vehicles and ensure the technology is accessible to all. By using their hydrogen combustion conversion kit, anyone can easily convert their gasoline-powered vehicle into being run by hydrogen. The benefits include affordability, convenience, and zero carbon emissions. As a former winner of the Cleantech Challenge and Invent Oregon, Turner has taken his success and helped to nurture that innovative drive in other students. He is a core member of the team responsible for the Verizon Innovative Learning STEM Achievers program hosted at PSU, a mentor and coach to incoming Cleantech and InventOR teams, and overall a supporter of innovation at Portland State.
LoveHate Athletica
LoveHate Athletica was founded by Jensen Barnes, a student at the University of Oregon studying Business Administration with a focus on entrepreneurship. The story behind LoveHate Athletica stems from finding tennis apparel that is both visually appealing and functional for female athletes between the ages of 16 and 35. As the top-place winner in the 2022 Invent Oregon competition, it’s exciting to see LoveHate Athletica take the stage by storm once again.
The Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards (GSEA) are scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 26th, from 4-6pm at the Olympic Mills Commerce Center. Make sure to come out and support the up-and-coming entrepreneurs of Portland.