Campus & Community

2025 Hult Prize Campus Qualifier Competition

Tuesday, April 8, 2025, By Cristina Hatem

On Feb. 21, five student teams from Syracuse University competed in the 2025 Hult Prize campus qualifier at Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad for a chance to pitch at the Hult Prize national qualifier at the Hult International Business School in Boston, Massachusetts on March 21.

The image shows a stage setup at Hult International Business School for the Hult Prize United States event. Two individuals are standing on the stage, one near a podium with the Hult Prize United States logo and another near large letters spelling "HULT BOSTON." The background features a large screen displaying "Hult Prize United States" along with the Hult Prize logo. The floor has a black carpet with the Hult International Business School logo and name printed on it.

Lindy Truitt and Anjaneya Padwal, founders of SipSafe+, at the Hult Prize National Qualifier in Boston, Massachusetts.

Lindy Truitt ’25 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) and Anjaneya Padwal G’25 (School of Information Studies), founders of SipSafe+, won the campus qualifier and moved on to compete at the nationals in Boston. Although they did not move on to the final round, they received rave reviews from the judges for both their idea and pitch.

Besides Truitt and Padwal, the following students competed in the campus qualifier:

  • Alie Savane ’25 (College of Arts and Sciences), founder of Beta Kola;
  • Carolina Aguayo Plá ’28 (School of Information Studies and Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Frutecho;
  • Anthony H. Smith Jr. G’25 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), Bryson Carter G’25 (Newhouse School), Asha Breedlove G’25 (Newhouse School) and Stacey Collier G’25 (Newhouse School), founders of HBeatzCU;
  • Aidan Turner ’25 (School of Architecture), Lucas d’Oelsnitz ’26 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management), Carolyn Fernandes ’25 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) and Aphrodite Gioulekas ’25 (Visual and Performing Arts), founders of Solace.

The Hult Prize is a prestigious global business competition started by a partnership between the Hult International Business School and the United Nations Foundation. The competition inspires student entrepreneurs to solve the world’s biggest challenges through innovative social enterprises with positive global impact. Since its inception, over one million students from more than 120 countries have participated in their programs, working to create high-impact startups that address the annual challenge in alignment with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Finalists pitch their businesses to a panel of expert judges, and the winning team receives $1 million in funding to make their idea a reality.

This year’s Hult Prize Competition qualifier was organized by Aditee Malviya G’25 (College of Engineering and Computer Science).