Startup Battle USVI 2026 Crowns New Entrepreneurs
On Thursday evening, the University of the Virgin Islands’ St. Thomas campus transformed into a vibrant hub of innovation as six local startups presented their unique visions in competition for a slice of a $100,000 investment at the Startup Battle USVI 2026.
Steve Lowe, the visionary behind Estate Shield VI, emerged as the victor, securing the coveted $80,000 top prize with his groundbreaking estate planning platform.
Concurrently, Keturah Nelson, a senior at UVI and founder of CTF Consulting, clinched the $20,000 student award for her pioneering initiative that converts environmental waste into fertilizer.
“We orchestrated a Startup Battle reminiscent of ‘Shark Tank’ right here in the Virgin Islands,” remarked Kelly Pugh, Client Relations Manager at the UVI Research and Technology Park.
Pugh emphasized that this competition serves a dual purpose: to exhibit an array of local ventures while signaling to entrepreneurs that capital is accessible within the territory.
“The intent is to ignite the entrepreneurial spirit among Virgin Islanders and demonstrate that investment opportunities abound here,” she articulated.
Further elucidating the importance of the event, Pugh stated, “This platform is designed to cultivate that entrepreneurial drive and reassure individuals that viable ideas can attract support for their realization.”
This year’s contest featured six teams, comprising four community-focused startups and two student-led initiatives from UVI.
Each competitor was allotted five minutes for their pitch, followed by an additional five minutes for a Q&A session with a panel of four judges, which included former participants and acknowledged local business leaders.
- In the community track, cpStacks introduced their AI-powered trading platform, enabling users to mimic the strategies of seasoned investors, thereby democratizing access to complex financial markets.
- RePlastic Recycle showcased their innovative modular recycling system tailored for island communities, utilizing robotics and machine interfaces to repurpose plastic waste into useful construction materials such as blocks, lumber, and roofing tiles.
Estate Shield VI aims to revolutionize estate planning for Virgin Islanders through a digital platform, offering essential tools to secure assets while circumventing common legal and financial hurdles associated with probate. Its triumph as the foremost winner of the competition underscored its potential impact.
Lowe referenced a staggering statistic: the Virgin Islands lieutenant governor’s office currently holds approximately $22 million in unclaimed property.
He pointed out that traditional wealth management firms often decline clients lacking substantial investable assets. Over the past 16 months, Estate Shield VI has assisted around 180 families, safeguarding around $250 million in assets.
In a subsequent press release from the UVI Research and Technology Park, Lowe expressed, “Startup Battle was an inspiring evening, surrounded by an assemblage of innovative, ambitious individuals and the unwavering support of our community stakeholders. Events like this are crucial for elevating our territory.”
He further articulated that the investment will enable the company to extend its reach to more Virgin Islands families by offering affordable estate and financial planning solutions.
“This pivotal investment will facilitate our outreach to more families, ensuring they have access to financial planning that protects their loved ones and mitigates the probate challenges that have long afflicted our territory,” Lowe stated.
“This is a communal endeavor to dismantle the cycle of poverty and financial insecurity, and I am profoundly grateful to the UVI RTPark for their partnership in this mission.”
Among the competitors was Juju and Cece’s Lemonades and Treats, an expanding agricultural enterprise that transforms local crops into beverages and related products.
What began as a modest initiative has blossomed into a diverse, farm-to-bottle operation distributed across the territory, currently venturing into body-care products utilizing byproducts from its beverage line.
Source link: Stthomassource.com.
