IUPUI Hosting JagStart Competition

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Fifteen teams of IUPUI students will compete today in the 2017 JagStart elevator pitch competition. The "Shark Tank"-style event offers thousands of dollars for winners chosen by a panel of judges and audience balloting.

The top three teams, as judged by a five-person judging panel, will earn $2,500, $1,500 and $00 respectively. The top pitch chosen by audience voting will earn $1,000. The competition runs 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the Lilly Auditorium at the IUPUI library.

Contest judge Kendrea Williams says the competition is different from some others because it is "more about social ideas and open to different types of enterprises, compared to businesses that are scalable."

Last year, a concept called LookUp: Away won the top prize. The project uses a business model allowing users to raise money for charity by going smartphone-free for a certain amount of time. The money comes from companies paying to display their ads after "smartphone-free periods."