One thing’s for certain: There’s no shortage of cutting-edge ideas burgeoning at USC Iovine and Young Academy. The Iovine and Young Development Prize Competition is an annual opportunity to recognize some of these feats in innovation by awarding funding prizes to original products conceived of by Academy students and teams.

The 2022 roster of competitors put their ingenuity and entrepreneurial skills to the test by pitching their product proposals to an esteemed panel of knowledgeable judges. Not only did their inspired inventions demonstrate originality, value, and impact, they aimed to find unique solutions to gaps in a diverse range of spaces, from digital wallets to health wearables to furniture, end-of-life planning, and education. The winners are true examples of innovation in action, embodying the pioneering spirits of founders Jimmy Iovine and Andre “Dr. Dre” Young and the creative lifeblood of the Academy. With their potentially industry-transforming accomplishments flourishing on the horizon, the future looks that much brighter today.

The 2022 Iovine and Young Prize, awarded to two winners, goes to… 

dubdubdub, an iOS app that allows people to easily create digital wallets to communicate, connect, and transact with other people. The platform enables shared web3 experiences and strives to be the first mass-adoption, mobile-first social wallet.

What inspired this project? The team, made up of Anupam Batra, Cam Glynn, Pavan Garidipur, Robert Bordeaux, and Ariana Sokolov, shared: “Blockchains unlock powerful new ways of experiencing the internet and your web3 wallet is at the core of that experience. Despite the importance of wallets, existing wallets assume that all users are power users and thus offer an incredibly poor user experience for new users. We’re passionate about driving the mass-adoption of web3 and we think that the best way to do that is to provide new users with a delightful wallet experience.

Pulse, a wearable patch that analyzes the user’s heart rhythm and provides unique feedback to inform the user when they need to take action to prevent an irregular rhythm from occurring or progressing.

“I was on the pre-professional track for ballet for 15 years. It was the most recognizable part of my identity, my most necessary outlet, and the constant that coaches and professionals told me would drive my future. I lost all of that when I learned that I was risking my life every time I was dancing. I was diagnosed with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, the genetic heart condition that is the leading cause of sudden death in high-performing athletes,” Richa Krishna explains of her personal connection to Pulse. “My dad was my most trusted source of guidance in starting Pulse as a response to this. He held my hand to build the foundation of both my life and this project. I lost him unexpectedly to the same condition, and in the uncertainty, confusion, and pain that follows, I am getting more clarity on what needs to be done. No one should have to choose between quality and length of life, and I am committed to seeing that solution through.”

The 2022 Graduate Development Prize goes to… 

Tension, furniture design startup that combines the portability of flat pack furniture with a unique method of assembly and disassembly via material tension rather than conventional hardware.

What did the mind behind Tension, Ivan Wong, do when he found out about his win? He called his brothers. It was a family endeavor as the siblings worked on the competition together. “We really believed in Tension and winning further solidified our drive to make this real,” Wong explains. 

Wong hopes to combat the “waste and recycling issues” associated with “fast furniture” with this project, and “produce furniture that people are proud of” and “that can move with us throughout our lives.”

“For myself,” Wong elaborates, “I had been putting off buying a shelf to store my stuff for the past four years because I was fearing the logistics of having to lug something so big and heavy when I inevitably have to move out. We decided to tackle all of these problems together.” 

The 2022 Social Impact Prize, also awarded to two winners, goes to…

Elysian, a startup developing an end-of-life marketplace to help Millennials and Gen-Xers approach death by providing options in planning memorial services. Elysian places sustainable and eco-friendly options in the forefront when considering end-of-life planning. 

Vincent Perez dedicates Elysian to his partner. Revealing the significance of the project, he comments, “In December of 2017, I got engaged and was accepted into IYA. After that, my partner, Shane Colombo, got into Northwestern for his clinical psychology Ph.D. In 2018 I lost him. His life was taken by city group gun violence within 30 minutes of him walking outside. Ever since I began working on Elysian with my Co-Founder, Neilda Paqcuin, I knew this was something I wanted to focus on long term, to honor those we lost and love through a meaningful legacy. This is for my love, and I miss him everyday.” 

AltEd, an educational platform decentralizing the educational knowledge and capabilities of university students and community leaders for the South Central community. AltEd helps to create educational impact by connecting university students with community leaders and local schools to teach and support project-based learning.

Anthony Ramirez says of the idea for AltEd, “The inspiration behind my project comes from the years of experience I had working in education fields and program building within the nonprofit sector. This idea is so important to me because I see this impacting youth in my community of South Central.”

Ramirez adds, “I am so excited to be working on this project and can't wait on what's to come.”

Check out the winners of the 2022 Iovine and Young Development Prize Competition

The Winners of the 2022 Iovine and Young Development Prize Competition

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