Chris Schilling, '20 and Grant Miller, '20 | BioGripz

"This winter, our team felt very strongly in our product, but wasn’t sure what was next.  We had a prototype of a fitness product we both loved and used, that many had validated as a great opportunity.  We even had the Notre Dame Strength Program use and give feedback–and they loved it! However, creating new prototypes would be costly, and production even more-so.  The Race to Revenue program allowed us to keep working on our product, and give us a chance to succeed.

Race to Revenue is a rare opportunity to start a company without the risks of spending personal capital on a project that might not be a real business opportunity. The program allowed for us, the BioGripz team, to prototype and market test to validate our product. We are still in the process of creating a final product, but could not have done this without the funds and guidance we received through the Race to Revenue. We are now confident that there is an untapped market and need for our product and we are excited to bring the company to life. 

The most valuable aspect of R2R is the experience and strategic thinking shared by the team running it. Being able to come into Innovation Park and bounce our thoughts and ideas around our mentors really helped us keep track of our next steps. The connections out of the idea center also provided us with resources for our company. For instance, we were able to find our lead CAD designer out of the innovation lab. He is in the process of tweaking our CAD files and printing out 3D models as we get closer to our final product. We were also able to get connected with someone who is with a company in innovation park who has graphic design experience for our logo and website. The amount of resources you can find in the area is outstanding and a great asset to the program.

Overall, the summer experience we gained from R2R allowed us to experience the life of a start-up. In the end, what came out of the result of the program was dependent on our efforts, but R2R definitely makes the resources clear and available. We are very fortunate to be a part of the program, and we are looking forward to continuing our relationship with our R2R mentors as we head into the fall of our Senior year at Notre Dame."