On March 13, a panel of New York University Law School alumni named Andy Guan ’26 and Patrick Lee ’25 the winners of the Spring Business Pitch Contest sponsored by the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital (EVC) Program . Guan and Li's winning formula was his ClaimRapid, a fictitious business that uses AI tools to simplify the filing and tracking of small claims cases in U.S. courts.
The EVC program holds two pitch contests each year, once in the spring and once in the fall. These competitions are open to students and recent graduates working individually or in teams. After participants submit a pitch deck and video explanation of their concept, finalists will be invited to livestream their pitch in front of a panel of alumni judges with expertise in the venture capital and startup fields. The winning pitch will receive a $1,500 prize.
Guan and Lee said they decided to pitch together after discussions as members of the law school's social enterprise and startup law group, which Lee co-chairs. Mr. Li wanted to propose a concept to alleviate the challenges of the small claims court process. Guan had experience creating his pitch deck as a co-founder of his startup incubator during his undergraduate days. They decide to pool their knowledge and form a team.
Mr. Guan and Mr. Lee have no immediate plans to launch a business based on their proposal, but if they decide to develop the concept further, they are open to approaches from students and alumni who offer legal or business expertise. Mr. Lee says he has received it. “The conversation definitely gave us energy and motivation,” he says.
This semester's alumni judge was Lydia Tschuk '97, general counsel for the luggage brand Away. Andrea Innocon ’03, co-founder and chief operating officer of Cadence Cash, an AI-powered platform that helps small businesses grow. and Ed Stelzer ’93, entrepreneur-in-residence at venture group Loeb.nyc.
Posted on April 11, 2024.
