Akshaya Lingala

What is the Innovate WithIN competition? 

It’s basically a pitch competition where round one is uploading a video and they (the judges) look at that video, and depending on that you go in-person to present your pitch. They have different regions, as it’s a regional competition at first, and we represent region two. We basically just talk about our pitch, it’s a six-minute pitch idea, and we have a slideshow to go along with it. You can also make a prototype if you want. It doesn’t have to be a medical device, it can be any innovative idea you have. 

What was your innovation? 

We came up with a personalized wearable wrist massaging device because people get hand cramps all the time, and there’s nothing really that responds to the pain you’re feeling at the moment. Nothing on the market at the moment responds to that type of pain. Our device directly responds to your muscle contractions and customizes the pain relief based on that. 

How does it work? 

It uses sensors and motors to provide a personalized massage, and it can be used for non-specific wrist pain as well as specific wrist pain. For example, it can be used by those with carpal tunnel or arthritis. 

How did you learn about the competition? 

It was through the Biomedical Innovations class taught by Mr. Harper. Mr. Harper promoted it at the beginning of the year. At the beginning of January, we got capstone projects, and one of the options was to submit a video pitch for this competition, and we chose that. 

Is there anything else you guys had to do to prepare for the competition? 

We made a prototype, and we have a slideshow to present as well. Since it’s a business competition, there’s a lot of business stuff we have to do, especially figuring things out like cost, revenue, profit margins, graphs, revenue graphs, all of that. They also require a pitch deck, but the prototype isn’t required. But since our device is a physical device, we chose to make a prototype. 

How is the competition structured? 

The first round we made past is the video round, and you basically just upload a video of your pitch. The second round is within your region, and they select ten teams from your region to compete at Purdue. It’s just a six-minute pitch where you go up there and present to the judges and your fellow competitors. Then, they will ask you questions on your pitch, and they’ll have a rubric that they’ll grade you on. And then after that, if you get to win first place, you move on to the state (round).

Are there any rewards for doing well? 

 If you win regionals, you get $1,000 per person as a prize. If you win state, the winner gets $25,000 to fund their business, and there are other people in the panel who help you network and grow your business even outside of the competition. I remember people who competed at last year’s state competition got thousands of dollars in scholarship money, so there’s just a lot of opportunity. There’s also a conference in Washington D.C. that all the state winners are welcome to attend to further grow the business and network. 

Has this experience impacted your career goals at all? 

Both of us wanted to go into the medical field, and we both majored in something biology-related. But this competition exposed us to a lot of other fields like computer science and engineering. Doing this competition has really made us rethink what exactly we want to do in the future and opened our eyes to opportunities and careers we didn’t know existed. 

What would you say to people interested in participating in this competition? 

This competition is a really good idea for people who know they want to do something in biology or medicine, but aren’t fully set on it. This competition exposes you to so many new opportunities. Although our (device) is a medical device, it doesn’t even have to revolve around medicine or have anything to do with the medical field. It can be completely your own idea, so those who are interested in learning more about business, computer science and engineering should definitely check it out. It gives you exposure to a lot of fields and helps you think of creative solutions.