October 10, 2025
Five teams of college entrepreneurs came to St. John’s University’s Manhattan, NY, campus on October 7, eager to compete for the chance to develop their ideas at a start-up incubator in India in January 2026.
The New York chapter finals of TiE University’s (TieU) Global Pitch Competition drew more than 100 administrators, students, and would-be entrepreneurs to the Manhattan campus. The entrepreneurs pitched their plans for businesses in the counseling, environmental, medical, sports, and technology sectors to a panel of judges. TieU, established in 1992, is a global initiative dedicated to providing college students and recent alumni with the tools needed to bring their business ideas to life.
Among the finalists were Cara Dunleavy and Niyadeng Tour ’25C, whose business, Hot Stuff, uses biological composite materials to produce sustainable, single-use drinking cups that self-decompose, reducing agricultural waste.
Cara, a senior majoring in Environmental Sustainability and Decision-Making at St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is Chief Executive Officer of Hot Stuff. Ms. Tour, who graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in the same subject, is its Chief Operating Officer. Both are from New Hampshire and met in a chemistry class in 2024.
The Hot Stuff team also includes Liam Verdesi, a junior majoring in Management at The Peter J. Tobin College of Business, who serves as Head of Business Development. In February, the team won the Farella Vincentian Innovation Award—given to the start-up that embodies the University’s Vincentian mission of ethical and community-focused service—at the inaugural Johnny’s Innovation Challenge.
“We are real impact driven,” Cara said. “The issue of future environmental sustainability is unsettling for those in our generation, and it really inspired us to move forward.”
“We are Gen Z,” Ms. Tour added. “Our generation is going to take control of our environmental future.”
More than 70 proposed businesses submitted pitch applications to TiE U’s New York chapter. The field was trimmed to 15 in the summer and to five in September. Each team was given 10 minutes to describe its business strategy and plans for growth, followed by questions from the judges.
Eventually, the judges selected psyflo—an artificial intelligence-powered mental health platform for elementary school and high school students—developed by student Deanna Oliver of Cornell University. Deanna said her own issues with mental health inspired her to develop the platform.
“The platform can identify when students exhibit signs of risk to themselves and to others,” Deanna explained.
In winning, Deanna and her team earned a trip to TiE U’s Global Summit in Rajasthan, India, in January, where they will interact with investors and other start-up experts and compete for $100,000 in cash and prizes.
Hosting the New York chapter finals is another example of the University’s commitment to entrepreneurship. The University’s Venture & Innovation Center (VIC), which opened in January 2024, helps bring to life potentially transformative product ideas created by members of the St. John’s community and external partners.
Through the VIC, students can participate in the yearlong Start-up Incubator Program and the Start-up Boot Camp, an eight-week summer program designed to transform student ideas into viable ventures. Students can also compete for start-up prizes at annual events, including Johnny’s Innovation Challenge and the James & Eileen Christmas Business Plan Competition.
Finalists in the TiE U competition on October 7 were greeted by Henry “Hank” Watkins Jr., Regional Director and President of the Americas at Lloyd’s, and Executive Director and Associate Dean of the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science at The Tobin College of Business.
“I love the innovation on display, because that is everything in our business,” Dean Watkins said. “Industries really rely on innovative people.”