Clean Plate Innovations Wins 2024-2025 Duquesne New Venture Challenge

For the first time in the DNVC’s six-year history, the winning team consists entirely of Duquesne alumni and students: Nolan Sulpizio (B'24; double major in entrepreneurship and supply chain management), Daniel Oldak (B'23; double major in supply chain management and information systems) and current Duquesne senior and entrepreneurship major Diego Lopez. The idea for Clean Plate Innovations was conceived during the 2024 Techstars Startup Weekend, Pittsburgh, hosted by Duquesne's Center for Excellence in Entrepreneurship.
 
Clean Plate Innovations developed technology that addresses the plate-waste challenge through an AI-enabled food waste tracking platform. Their smart camera system uses computer vision to identify and calculate plate waste at the point of disposal in real-time. The technology presents the data through a personalized KPI dashboard to operators and end consumers.
 
As first place winners, Clean Plate receives $20,000, 10 hours of free legal education through Duquesne's Thomas R. Kline School of Law and five hours of free consulting services from Duquesne's Small Business Development Center. 
 
The Palumbo-Donahue School of Business hosts the DNVC, which offers cash and service prizes worth more than $100,000, allowing entrepreneurship teams to test ideas and raise funding for their ventures. This year's competition saw the largest pool of applicants, with more than 150 entrepreneurs vying for a place in the top five finalists.
 
"It's incredibly exciting to see Clean Plate Innovations—a venture conceived during our Techstars Startup Weekend in 2024—come to life through the passion and ingenuity of our Duquesne students and alumni. That the entire team emerged from the School of Business speaks volumes about the talent, creativity and drive we cultivate here at the Palumbo-Donahue School of Business,” said Dr. Dean McFarlin, dean, Palumbo-Donahue School of Business. “They truly embody what it means to be difference-makers."
 
Clean Plate was one of 15 entrants to advance to the competition's semi-final round. A panel of entrepreneurs, executives and investors selected five teams to make in-person finalist presentations.
 
Here are how the remaining finalists placed: 
 
5th place, winning $3,000—Pittsburgh Coastal Energy is creating ocean wave energy harvesting technology to deliver sustainable, off-grid power to charge submersible systems at sea. Team members include Priscilla Prem and Duquesne alum Carlan Gray.
 
4th place, winning $3,000—Reclamation Factory is developing an automated and mobile recycling micro-factory that turns plastic waste directly into recycled products. Team members include Georgia Crowther, Thomas Lansing, Olivia Rangel and Duquesne affiliate Abby Kennedy.
 
3rd place, winning $5,000, plus 10 hours of free legal education through Duquesne's Thomas R. Kline School of Law and five hours of free consulting services from Duquesne's Small Business Development Center— EASI, a surgical tool designed to be inserted into small blood vessels, ensuring precise and equidistant suturing, optimizing vessel alignment and preventing complications. EASI's team consists of Hilary Liu, Simon Cao and Duquesne affiliate Dr. Leda Klouda.
 
2nd place, winning $10,000, plus 10 hours of free legal education through Duquesne's Thomas R. Kline School of Law and five hours of free consulting services from Duquesne's Small Business Development Center—PinPointDX, a medical device for obtaining high-quality samples for sensitive diagnostic testing in point-of-care settings. PinPointDX's team consists of Milun Jain, Viraaj Reddi, Atharva Mulay and Duquesne affiliate Alexander McAloon.
 

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