University of Utah

Nine students from the College of Science were selected to join the student ambassador team for the 2021-2022 year. Our student ambassadors are strong leaders, excellent communicators, and well-rounded students from one of our four departments: Biology, Chemistry, Math, and Physics & Astronomy. They will work hard to recruit new students, help incoming students find their passion, and support current students through their entire undergraduate career.

Vitapul, a company developing an injection device that stores medication in a way that extends its shelf-life, won first place and the $5,000 grand prize at the 2019-2020 University of Utah Opportunity Quest business-model, executive-summary competition today. Ten teams advanced to the final judging and awards event at Lassonde Studios. The competition is managed by students at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute and sponsored by Zions Bank.

Before starting the Master of Business Creation program at the University of Utah's David Eccles School of Business, Julia Perry already had plenty of experience in the fashion world. She earned a BFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and had worked with big-name companies like Ralph Lauren. But even as she found success in her career, Perry recognized major gaps in the fashion industry. "I noticed there weren't a lot of clothing options for plus-sized women, which I'm passionate about because I am one," she said. This need inspired Perry to create Wyetta. She describes Wyetta as a "plus-sized women's jean company that sells jeans not only by waist size but by body shape." Perry's unique designs provide comfortable and fashionable jeans for body types that are rarely served in the marketplace.

The David Eccles School of Business and Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute welcomed the inaugural class of founders in the new Master of Business Creation (MBC) program starting this fall semester at the University of Utah. The group consists of 26 founders who have launched 20 companies ranging from fashion and education management to marketing automation and medical devices. Individual founders and founding teams were admitted. All have already made progress in starting their companies and are looking to refine them to grow sales and attract investors, among other goals.

The University of Utah students behind PureWare have received two grants from the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute to create a prototype and secure a patent for their startup company. PureWare offers a portable utensil with interchangeable heads that can conveniently collapse yet extends to full size when in use.