Babson Awards Over $150K To Student & Alumni Ventures In 2025 B.E.T.A. Challenge

Babson College handed out more than $150,000 in funding and services this month to nine startups founded by its students and alumni — a gut-health chocolate brand, a circular skincare venture, and a pet wellness company among them — as part of the school’s 2025 B.E.T.A. Challenge, held April 11 at Joseph L. Winn Auditorium in Olin Hall.

The annual event — presented by the Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship and now expanded to include five additional special awards — offered $25,000 grand prizes in each of three tracks, undergraduate, graduate, and alumni, and $65,000 more in category-specific honors, including awards for social impact, tech innovation, fashion, and women founders.

“The B.E.T.A. Challenge recognizes the progress and potential of Babson ventures as they seek to solve problems and create impact,” said Alexandra Dunk, associate director of entrepreneur programs and engagement at the Blank Center, in 2024.

FROM CHOCOLATE TO SKINCARE TO CLEAN PET SUPPLEMENTS

This year’s undergraduate prize went to DIRTY GUT, a startup led by Daniel Berlin ’26, for a chocolate bar formulated with prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics. Designed to make gut health delicious and approachable, the company also won the $10,000 Stephen H. Kramer and Michael London Award, bringing Berlin’s total haul to $35,000.

In the graduate category, KYN, founded by Ily Kynion Coulibaly MS’25, emerged as the big winner. The skincare line uses byproducts from cocoa processing to create all-natural, inclusive treatments for acne, hyperpigmentation, and dark spots — while supporting small-scale farmers and advancing sustainability. KYN swept three awards: the $25K track prize, the $10K Social Impact Award, and the $7,500 High Impact Woman Founder Award, totaling $42,500.

PetPax Co., founded by MBA candidates Anthony Gatti and Nathan Ruff-Williams, won the alumni track with its dissolvable pet supplements targeting issues like anxiety and dental health. Branded as “SupplaMelts,” the products are marketed as daily pet wellness solutions backed by veterinarians.

TECH, FASHION & SOCIAL GOOD GET THEIR DUE

Two awards went to semi-finalists who didn’t make it to the final pitch round but still received recognition for specialized impact:

• Twentytoo.AI, founded by Shay Gaafar MBA ’19, won the Lila W. Sahney Fashion & Textile Innovation Award and its $25,000 prize
• Eazeye, a low-power AI-enhanced display technology built by Louis (Haotian) Huang ’28, won the Tech Innovation Award and $10,000

The full roster of finalists also included startups tackling fentanyl detection (TaeSun Kit), sustainable hydrogen energy (H2Fusion Technologies), mobile financial literacy games (BUDget), and after-school childcare logistics (Pickup Buddi).

STUDENT-LED INNOVATION WITH EXPANDING SUPPORT

Each year, the B.E.T.A. Challenge aims to amplify student- and alumni-led entrepreneurship through funding, mentorship, and visibility. The full prize list reflects an emphasis on supporting founders in areas like social impact, gender equity, and deep tech — and a recognition that early-stage funding can help move ideas from pitch to market.

This year’s finalists competed across multiple rounds, with runners-up in each track receiving $2,500 and access to services from Babson’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

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