LS Alum Wins Prize at the $300K Entrepreneurs Challenge

Mir Hwang (LS/CAS ’19) and teammate Jong Wook Kim were selected as Winners of the New Venture Competition at the $300K Entrepreneurs Challenge for their project, GigFinesse. The venture is an online platform that connects artists and their fans to venues and their patrons, simplifies the booking process, and protects both parties from experiencing a financial loss or a poorly planned event. In addition to their $25,000 prize, Hwang and Kim also received the Audience Choice Award and Best Pitch Award.

The May 10 event was the conclusion of NYU Stern’s annual Entrepreneurs Challenge, an eight-month long competition which awards cash prizes and pro-bono startup services valued at more than $300,000 to promising innovators. Some 243 teams comprising more than 500 students, faculty, and alumni from 19 schools across NYU’s global network competed in 2018–19 in one of three competition tracks: New Venture, Social Venture, and Technology Venture. The six winning teams were chosen after pitching their ideas and enduring Q&A by judges from a variety of sectors, including insurance, social enterprise, sustainability, venture capital, philanthropy, and software.