The University of Nevada, Reno’s Sontag Entrepreneurial Competition awarded one team with a $50,000 grand prize on Wednesday. Reno Public Radio’s Rocio Hernandez has more.
30-year-old Ryan Klekas says a good business idea must be able to solve a problem. His award-winning idea called Instally is solving an issue that he and many university students nationwide are having: parking.
Klekas’ solution is to have interested homeowners rent their private driveways to students. While doing his research, Klekas found that many homeowners near UNR welcome the idea.
“Individuals were like, ‘Yeah I work most of the time or I am at school, I was a student, I’m never using the driveway anyways.’”
Klekas plans on using the Sontag money to develop a website and an app for his product. The runner up, Helmet Neuro Protection Technology, received $5,000 for its idea to create a new helmet that better protects users from concussions and brain trauma.
