UC LAUNCH Demo Day founders pitch innovative startups

The 2024 LAUNCH Demo Day participants. Photo: Jim Block

Startup founders at UC LAUNCH Demo Day last week pitched ideas ranging from improving package delivery to crafting better athletic supplements to expediting the building permit process. 

Each year, 20 startups from across the UC system are are chosen from more than 100 applicants. The chosen startups founders are paired with entrepreneurs and mentors, and led through an intense three-month Lean Startup-focused curriculum. 

The program finishes with Demo Day, when teams pitch to judges for cash prizes in front of an audience. This years Demo Day judges included Noah Doyle, managing director of Javelin Venture Partners, Hina Dixit, a partner with M12, Kira Noodleman, a partner at Bee Partners, and David Bloom, a principal at the House Fund.

The top three teams that pitched on Demo Day:

First place: Doorstep AI:  The startup, cofounded by Rishabh Goel, BS/BA 22, (a graduate of the concurrent Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship program/business program), is working to simplify the last 500 feet of package delivery/pickup—particularly deliveries to apartments and multiple tenant dwellings. Doorstep AI,  which offers a visual guidance system to aid in package drop-offs, is kicking off a pilot in New York City.

Rishabh Goel, BS/BA 22, pitches startup Doorstep.ai. Photo: Jim Block

Second place: OptiGenix: The startup offers biologically tailored supplements for athletes; the two founders—Jai Williams, BS 23, a high jumper, and Gabe Abbes, BS 24, a distance runner—discovered that they were taking the same supplements, though their sports demanded different kinds of strength: Williams needed more power, while Abbes required prolonged energy.  Through genetic and quarterly blood testing, the startup aims to personalize supplement packages to help athletes meet their goals. 

Jai Williams, BS 23, a high jumper, and Gabe Abbes, BS 24, a distance runner, presenting at LAUNCH. Photo: Jim Block

Third place: Citmit (UC San Diego & UC Berkeley founders) Citmit is working to expedite the building permitting process by up to six months, using AI tools to evaluate/accelerate documentation checks. The San Diego based startup is initially focused on accessory dwelling units (ADUs) such as mother-in-law units and cottages, as those are the most in-demand/problematic. Driven by its AI component, Citmit operates as a user-friendly chat box.