Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Five years after becoming the first freshmen to win first place in the Colangelo College of Business’ Canyon Challenge, Kevin Vega and Suman Dangol returned to the Grand Canyon University spotlight.
Vega and Dangol won the $5,000 AZ Venture of the Year Award for their Vox Company product at the second Demo Day competition Wednesday night at Canyon Ventures, the university's business incubator, designed to help startups grow.
“It feels like the next step,” Vega said. “The Canyon Challenge was our first competition, and it really got us in the game. This is really the next step, and we were looking for the next pitch competition while growing our businesses, and we’re so happy for the organization.”
The Vox Company, with the aid of an app, produces innovative solutions for businesses by providing cutting-edge artificial intelligence, design, branding and marketing services.
“It’s great to be able to share our knowledge in AI and our passion with everyone,” Dangol said. “We want to transform Phoenix into the Silicon Desert. That’s our goal.”
Vox was chosen over six other companies by judges Greg Barr, editor in chief of the Phoenix Business Journal; Ashley Sankar, NineteenTwenty founder/CEO and "Shark Tank" winner; and Nick Kasten, vice president of strategy at National Bank of Arizona.
Each of the seven companies were members of Cohort 001, which participated in Founders Forum, a proprietary entrepreneurship training program that blends philosophies, tools and strategies from successful entrepreneurs and other programs.
“It’s not easy to be an entrepreneur,” said Robert Vera, Canyon Ventures founding director who moderated the event. “All of our entrepreneurs work really hard to grow their businesses. We want to celebrate all of them.”
Vega and Dangol took great pride in returning to the Canyon Ventures spotlight. Their LopesEat app, which allowed students to order food to be delivered to their residences, won the Canyon Challenge, GCU's "Shark Tank"-like entrepreneurial competition, in spring 2020.
“That opened up so many doors,” said Vega, who joined Exponential Destiny, a nonprofit organization that helps train kids around the world in AI and virtual reality. “I was there for a long time (four years). That’s where I got a lot of my AI skills.”
Dangol, meanwhile, embarked on a startup, Jotted, an efficient note-taking app he designed.
“We learned about exponential technologies and how we can implement that to businesses,” Dangol said.
So it made sense for Vega and Dangol to reunite, form a philosophy that led to Vox and return to GCU and “feel right at home,” Dangol said.
Vox lists law firms, startups and nonprofits among its clients. It applies consulting, developing and implementation steps to help companies find a solution.
“We sit with every employee, train them until every employee has adopted the software and it’s been adopted by the whole organization,” Vega said during his pitch.
Vega, who graduated in 2023 with a bachelor's degree in entrepreneurship, and Dangol, a 2022 business administration graduate, are natives of Southern California who relish their decision to enroll at GCU and learn under Vera.
“When I was thinking of a university, I had so many options,” Vega said. “I chose GCU. The first week I was here, I visited the Canyon Ventures Center. Any doubt I had about choosing the right school melted away because I knew I was in the right place. Within a month of being here at GCU, I was given an office, I was given a mentorship, I was given the right tools to succeed as an entrepreneur.
“Fast forward to six years later, we’re running a successful business and based here in the Canyon Ventures Center. I’m happy to be here, and we’re really happy to be part of the community.”
CarChap, a lip balm holder devised by GCU engineering major Caleb McCandliss to prevent a melting mess in automobiles, earned the $1,000 prize for the People’s Choice Award, and also was selected as the Most Innovative Award by the judges.
Splashy Sand, a sensory sand for bathtubs that also serves as a “skin-nourishing bath soak" for children ages 5-9, founded by Sophia Zaft, won the True Visionary Award.
And Best Bar, which produces natural energy bars and granola, founded by Shannon Ortiz, earned the Next Unicorn Award.
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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