Qualify, a Boulder startup, won the $10,000 Esprit Challenge prize for its college dating application.
The challenge, sponsored by the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, is an annual contest of Boulder entrepreneurs that started with 14 contestants who are whittled own to three finalists by the Tuesday night competition.
Esprit attendees who served as judges for the event said they voted for Qualilfy because they liked the app’s question-based approach, in which users create their own questions that other users must answer to be able to see or message the quiz creator.
The two runner up startups were focused on technological solutions to modern problems in education and security, respectively.
Bear Systems, a device management company that sets up visual central security controls to protect interconnected devices from hackers, was the first to present.
The other competitor was Class Composer, which has created a software package aimed at helping elementary school teachers make better and more efficient student placement decisions.
“They were all high quality contestants,” said John Tayer, president and CEO of the Boulder Chamber. “I just love the passion of Qualify, and of course it is wonderful to have the University of Colorado represented.”
Qualify’s team are CU students who got their start with help from Catalyze, the university’s student accelerator.
Qualify CEO Sean Chenoweth said his team plans to use the prize money to expand to other universities.
“I don’t think that I would be here without the support of CU,” said Chenoweth after receiving the award. “There is no better time and place than 2016 Boulder to create a startup, especially if you are a CU student.”
