On April 16, 2026, hosted at bwtech South, UMBC’s Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation held its signature event, The Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition (CBIC).
The CBIC, established in 2014 with a generous pledge from UMBC alum Greg Cangialosi ’96, provides students at UMBC with an opportunity to develop their startup ideas with the guidance of a seasoned business mentor, connect with the local entrepreneurial ecosystem, and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges.
Students are encouraged to enter ideas in either the Technology and Innovation track or the Social Impact track, and compete for cash prizes of up to $4,000 and a six-month membership to bwtech@UMBC, available to winners in both tracks.
Ten finalists presented their pitches to our panel of judges:
- Stephen Auvil, Chief Federal Engagement Officer at TEDCO
- Ben Broedel, CEO of Athena Enzymes Systems and bwtech client
- Robbin Lee, Director of Ecosystem Engagement, UpSurge at Greater Baltimore Committee
While the judges deliberated, the audience heard from the competition’s benefactor, Greg Cangialosi, UMBC ’96, who encouraged the student entrepreneurs in their pursuits, and UMBC student, Velma Funebe ’27, who presented about her venture iBraid. As a participant in bwtech’s Maryland NEW VENTURE program, Velma will pitch her iBraid startup again in bwtech’s Pitch Night event on May 11th.
Congratulations to the winners!
Tech and Innovation Track Winners:
#1 Manikanta Sirumalla for Reptrack Pro
#2 Lekan Ajiboye and his team for Quick Dx
#3 Caly Ferguson for C3D Works
Social Impact Track Winners:
#1 Julia Barr and Rania Abu-Nijaila for Shamsa
#2 Stanislav Mitchell for Lay Your Bricks
#3 Suhaani Thakur and Tejas Tyagi for Zen-Air
*Anjali Jha won the Audience Choice Award for Best Presentation for her venture A-Eye Vision.
As huge fans of innovation, entrepreneurship, and UMBC, bwtech was thrilled to sponsor this exciting event. We can’t wait to see what all of these student entrepreneurs do in the future!
