TAMPA — Every successful startup begins with a question.
What if healthcare referrals didn't leave patients waiting for months? What if parents had a genuinely healthy frozen treat they could trust? What if local businesses had a better way to connect with customers? What if a night out didn't have to come with the fear of drink tampering?
Those questions became businesses this spring through the Hafer THRIVE Pre-Seed Award Program at the USF Nault Center for Entrepreneurship, where student founders transformed personal experiences into ventures with the potential to improve lives. At the program's final pitch competition, four student-led startups earned a combined $25,000 in funding after presenting their ideas to a panel of experienced entrepreneurs and business leaders.
The Hafer THRIVE program awards up to $10,000 in nondilutive funding each semester to help promising ventures move from concept to reality. More than prize money, the program gives founders an opportunity to refine their business models, receive feedback from experienced judges and gain confidence that their ideas are worth pursuing. Eleven teams competed in the spring pitch competition.
For many of this semester's winners, the award represented something even more meaningful: validation.
A SMART way to Detect drink tampering
Graduate MBA student Addison "Addie" Bounds knows that some of the best business ideas begin with listening.
After hearing story after story from friends and other young women about drink tampering, she and her co-founder created Elora, wearable technology designed to detect drink spiking and help prevent drug-facilitated sexual assault.
"Once I started having those conversations with my friends, and then with hundreds of other young women, and I saw how deeply they wanted something like this, I knew we were onto something real," Bounds said.
The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey showed that 12% of women over 18 have been raped while incapacitated by alcohol or other drugs.
The venture received the competition's largest award of $10,000.
For Bounds, the funding was about far more than financial support.
"Being a part of the Nault Center has been a game changer," Bounds said. "It plugged me into a community and provided connections with people who have genuinely helped me grow Elora in ways I could not have anticipated."
"I was thrilled," she said. "Having access to nondilutive funding is such a big deal for a prerevenue startup, and winning the THRIVE award was a meaningful signal that people believe in what we are building."
She credits the Nault Center with helping develop an ambitious idea into a growing venture.
"Being a part of the Nault Center has been a game changer," Bounds said. "It plugged me into a community and provided connections with people who have genuinely helped me grow Elora in ways I could not have anticipated."
Bounds hopes Elora will eventually do more than detect dangerous substances. Her long-term vision is to help eliminate drug-facilitated sexual assault by preventing incidents before they happen.
speeding up healthcare referrals
For junior communication major Jackson Poynor and senior biomedical sciences student Sudeepa Pasupuleeti, entrepreneurship started with frustration.
Poynor watched someone close to him spend months waiting for specialist appointments because of delays in the medical referral process. Pasupuleeti experienced the same problem every day while working in a medical clinic.
Together, they built Simple Referrals, software designed to modernize and streamline healthcare referrals.
"I work in a clinic, so I see how messy referrals can get literally every day," Pasupuleeti said. "Referrals seem like such a simple behind-the-scenes thing, but when the process breaks down, patients are the ones left waiting, confused and delayed from getting care."
The pair validated the problem the old-fashioned way.
"We walked into a few dozen clinics in one day," Poynor said. "Nearly all of them were coordinating their referrals by manually reviewing faxes."
Winning a $5,000 THRIVE award gave the team resources to move beyond free software and begin building the legal and technical infrastructure required for a healthcare startup.
"It felt like support for something that means a lot to both of us," Pasupuleeti said. "It gave us the momentum to keep building it the right way."
Looking ahead, the founders hope their technology will help patients receive care faster while allowing health care providers to spend less time chasing paperwork and more time caring for people.
A protein-fueled frozen treat
When Darren Booth began selling homemade smoothie pops, he wasn't trying to launch a company.
Then customers kept coming back.
"What first made me realize this was more than an idea was watching people buy the product before I had even taken a single step toward building a business," said Booth, a senior majoring in finance with a minor in entrepreneurship. "When people started reordering without any prompting from me, something clicked."
That momentum became Groovy Smoothie Pops, protein-packed frozen treats made with clean ingredients and designed to offer families a healthier alternative in the freezer aisle.
"It is OK to feel unqualified," Booth said. "The sooner you put your ego aside and start asking for help, the more time and energy you save."
Booth said winning the $5,000 THRIVE award immediately removed one of his biggest obstacles.
"I was prepared to invest close to $3,000 of my own money in the pre-launch," he said. "When I found out I had won, that weight lifted immediately. Knowing the award would fully cover those costs gave me a real sense of validation and momentum."
Like many founders, Booth said learning to ask for help became one of entrepreneurship's biggest lessons.
"It is OK to feel unqualified," he said. "The sooner you put your ego aside and start asking for help, the more time and energy you save."
supporting local businesses with discounts
A move to a new city gave recent USF graduate Nicholas Eisengrein an idea he hadn't expected. He realized that finding great local businesses wasn't always easy for newcomers.
His startup, 9Yaps, connects consumers with discounts from local businesses while helping small businesses attract repeat customers.
"Supporting local businesses is especially important to me because they are the foundation of our communities," Eisengrein said. "They help shape the culture, character and connections that make each place unique."
Receiving a $5,000 THRIVE award gave him the confidence to continue growing the platform.
"The funding gave me confidence that the next six months of growth would be possible and allowed me to focus on building the business rather than worrying about keeping it running," he said.
Eisengrein hopes 9Yaps will eventually help thousands of consumers save money while giving local businesses sustainable ways to grow.
More than a competition
Although each founder's journey is different, a common theme emerged throughout this semester's THRIVE cohort.
The funding matters, but so do the mentors, feedback and entrepreneurial community surrounding each venture.
Whether students arrive with a prototype, a business plan or simply a problem they want to solve, the Hafer THRIVE program is designed to help them take the next step.
Applications are now accepted during both the fall and spring semesters, giving even more students the opportunity to compete for funding and accelerate their ventures. The spring 2026 competition has concluded, and the fall 2026 application will open in the coming months.
For the next student with an idea waiting to be explored, the next THRIVE success story may be just one application away.