Eleven Questrom Students Celebrated at Innovators’ Night
April 17, 2025
An impressive numbers of Questrom School of Business students were celebrated at this year’s Innovators’ Night, hosted by Innovate@BU, a free, massive celebration that shines a spotlight on student innovation at Boston University. Held on April 16 in the GSU’s Metcalf Ballroom, the event featured lightening pitches from the honored students, the announcing of the student venture awards, the final round of the $80K New Venture Competition, and special guests including President Gilliam and the BU Pep Band. With over 600 sign ups, Innovators’ Night brought together Boston University’s vibrant innovation community for an evening of recognition, pitches, and networking.
President Melissa Gilliam helped to kick off the event with Prianna Sharan’25 and Remi Chester’25 emceeing. They introduced Innovators’ Night as the largest celebration of student innovation at Boston University. President Gilliam highlighted how both Innovate@BU and The Mehrotra Institute for Business Markets and Society are united by a shared value: driving positive change through innovation. The introduction reel featured heartfelt testimonials from students who credited Innovate@BU for the warmth and inclusivity of its community, the significance of receiving undiluted funds directly from BU to help offset early startup costs, and the invaluable guidance and connections that have kickstarted their ventures and continue to support their growth.
Questrom students were honored for their achievements in two of Innovate@BU’s most competitive programs: the Summer Accelerator and the $80K New Venture Competition. From AI-powered platforms to sustainable household solutions, these students showcased how business innovation can drive real-world impact.
Questrom students in the Summer Accelerator included:
- Tommy Ross (Questrom’24) – BrightBook, an AI-powered platform alleviating educator burnout that creates customizable, standards-aligned lesson plans.
- Christa Campbell & Maria Saldivar Palacios (Questrom’25) – Busy Bee Refills, a sensor-based subscription service for household essentials featuring refillable jars that automatically reorder from sustainable brands.
- David Johnson (Questrom’26) – DocReserve, a scheduling platform connecting medical practices and sales representatives to streamline appointment booking.
- Betty Zhao (Questrom’25) – Epoch Labs, an AI tennis analytics platform utilizing a portable single-camera solution to provide real-time feedback, injury prevention insights, and more.
- Mihai Trinca Vespan (Questrom’25) – Redstone, all-in-one algorithmic trading platform for retail investors to develop, test, and execute trading strategies.
- Zhen Jiang (Questrom’26) – Sciterest, AI-powered platform aggregating research articles with personalized recommendations and social features for researchers.
Questrom finalists in the $80K New Venture Competition were:
- Joy Prashant Mehta (Questrom’25) – CollegeBuddy, a platform making higher education application processes in developing countries easier by consolidating applications into a single system.
- Tommy Ross (Questrom’24) – BrightBook
- Noah Sorin (Questrom’24) – Idori, a creator of sustainable learning experiences for children through eco-friendly plush toys, storybooks, and hands-on activities that instill environmental awareness.
- Amr Zaid (Questrom’26) – Vipo.AI, an AI-powered app providing real-time feedback to parents during interactions with their children, emulating guidance offered by child psychologists.
- Tanya Shizan (Questrom’26) – Udayaa, a student-first crowdfunding platform supporting high school social entrepreneurs in India with tailored campaign tools, mentorship, and more.
- Betty Zhao (Questrom’25) – Epoch Labs
