Four Gainesville entrepreneurs are finalists in a state-wide competition.
The Cade Museum for Creativity and Invention has named the sweet 16 finalists in its sixth annual Cade Museum Prize competition. Four Gainesville residents are now up to win $50,000 to help launch their business or product, according to a press release.
Alexandra Rhoton, the Cade Museum Prize program manager, said the museum is dedicated to creativity, innovation and invention.
There are four competition categories: health care and medical, environmental and agricultural, IT and commerce and a wild card, Rhoton said.
For the top winner in the health care category, there is an additional prize of $10,000 from The Vision Fund in Ocala, Rhoton said.
The four local finalists are Robert Damitz with aqUV, Lindsey Tropf with Immersed Games, Jonelle Toothman with NeXtGen Biologics and David Walker with Rehoboth Innovations, Rhoton said.
The final four will be announced April 21 and the final ceremony will be May 16 in the Santa Fe College Fine Arts Hall. The final four will present their product to the judges and the winner will be announced later that night, Rhoton said.
Robert Damitz, the 27-year-old finalist from aqUV, said his team is thrilled to be in the sweet 16.
“Cade is open to the whole state of Florida,” the fourth-year UF chemical engineering graduate student said. “There are some really good ideas. … We are thrilled to be a part of it and be selected.”
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 3/23/2015 under the headline “4 GNV residents Cade finalists”]
