Mississippi State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship & Outreach within the College of Business hosted its annual Startup Summit from March 27-31, 2023.
Startup Summit is an annual competition where MSU students are given the opportunity to present potential business or product ideas in hopes of being awarded funds to make these ideas a reality. A total of $40,000 was dispersed among the first, second and third place winners of all categories.
The divisions included in the competition were business concept, new product, best brand, business concept and brick and mortar. The winners of each division continued to the BankTEL Grand Finale to compete for the largest prize of $7,000.
A board of external judges, comprised of business leaders and MSU alumni, was brought in to observe the competition.
Alongside the other divisions, there were also People’s Choice awards for each category, voted upon by the audience.
This year, first place overall was won by L.O. Bra, a team composed of Hannah Smith, Elizabeth Strunk and Sadie Ogletree — all fashion design and merchandising majors.
Smith said L.O. Bra originally began as a project to create some form of “wearable technology” for a product development course. The L.O. Bra is a type of orthopedic bra for breast cancer patients with chemo ports. The bra is designed to detect early signs of infection in those chemo ports through built-in sensors.
L.O. Bra won first place in the new product division, earning a prize of $2,500. The team also placed first overall in the BankTEL Grand Finale Competition, winning an additional $7,000.
Both Smith and Strunk have had family members struggle with breast cancer, specifically with chemo port infections.
“We were like, ‘Well, let’s look into that and see if there’s something that we could fix there,’” Smith said. “And it kind of led us to where we are now.”
Smith said the Startup Summit is much more stressful than one might expect. Repeatedly pitching her team’s idea in front of successful businesspeople, answering their questions and being placed under a spotlight was a test of performing under pressure.
“It’s nerve wracking, but it’s also uplifting to go through that whole process,” Smith said.
The 2023 Startup Summit saw a record-breaking total of 51 student teams competing. Compared to the last in-person Startup Summit, this year saw a 40% increase in competitors.
Luke Snell and Ethan Holder, both senior mechanical engineering majors, are the founders and creators of Napsac, an external frame hiking backpack that folds out into a cot.
Napsac went on to place first and was chosen for a People’s Choice award in the business concept competition — granting $1,250 towards the startup. Snell and Holder’s product also placed second overall in the BankTEL Grand Finale Competition, winning another $3,000.
Snell and Holder have been trying to tackle the biggest strain that older backpackers face — sleeping. A crucial factor of backpacking is traveling light; typically, backpackers will use some form of foam mat to rest on. However, for older backpackers who face spinal issues, a foam mat is not the most comfortable option. Snell and Holder wanted to create a lighter alternative by combining a cot with the backpack itself.
Snell and Holder had been working on the idea before discovering the Startup Summit. The two decided to enter after an in-class presentation was given about the competition.
“It really went from being an idea to an actual thing because of the Startup Summit,” Snell said.
Snell and Holder are looking to build Napsac into a larger outdoor brand with more forms of backpacks. Other ideas they are working with include backpacks that convert into hammocks or even tents.
Holder said the pair received many business tips during the event.
“It was good to hear the judges’ feedback from both competitions. I liked meeting other groups who had, not similar startups, but who were in the same boat in the case of starting a company,” Holder said.
Snell said the most beneficial part of the experience was the people surrounding them throughout the process.
“The best part was just being around other people that were also in entrepreneurial mindsets. It was really nice overlap: engineering problem-solving through the creativity of other majors intercepting,” Snell said.
Of the 51 teams that competed in the Startup Summit, 23 of those teams were awarded some portion of the $40,000 fund.
According to Eric Hill, the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Outreach, the competing teams consisted of diverse backgrounds of students from all departments across MSU’s campus. Hill said many winners at the Startup Summit go on to further develop their ideas.
The winning team of the 2015 Startup Summit, Glo, is currently the highest-valued student startup to come from MSU, currently valued at an estimated $20 million. The winning team of the 2019 Startup Summit produced a software product that went on to become the number one app in the marketing category of the Shopify app store. The application later went through Techstars Atlanta and won the SEC pitch competition.
“At the end of the day, this is a fun event,” Hill said. “I always tell teams that compete that this has no bearing on your level of success. It is strictly for fun, because who knows who you’re competing against and what the judge sees or likes.”

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Courtesy Photo | Nicole Boulay

51 teams comprised of 80 entrepreneurs from 6 academic colleges were given the opportunity to pitch business or product ideas.