The 13th edition of the ESEG Startup Summit presents creative solutions to real-world problems.

On December 8th, ESEG College, part of the Etapa Group, hosted students from the 1st and 2nd years of high school at Colégio Etapa for the 13th edition of the ESEG Startup Summit, an annual event where students present startup proposals to a panel of university professors.

The activity consists of forming teams that identify unmet needs in society and develop creative solutions, structuring small businesses (startups) to solve these challenges. The initiative is part of the extracurricular course in Entrepreneurship and Finance, taught by Professor Edson Feghali. Throughout the year, the professor guided the students through the entire process of creating the companies, from the conception of the product or service to its validation.

According to Professor Edson, the event represents the final stage of the project and is fundamental to the academic trajectory of the participants. "Through this extracurricular course at Colégio Etapa, developed in partnership with Faculdade ESEG, students can engage in activities related to entrepreneurship, such as idea development, structuring, prototype creation, and much more," he explains.

Entrepreneurship in practice

The opening of the event included the participation of the coordinator of Educational Projects at ESEG, Luiz Neves, who invited Production Engineering students from the Faculty (Alex de Oliveira Manhone, Aline Bueno da Silva Cruz, Ana Carolina de Deus, Ana Luiza Parmelston, Lucas Pereira Silva, Mara Rubia Carvalho and Natalia Aparecida Souza) to present the startup Hexa Digital focuses on creating professional websites and customized applications. Developed as part of the Integrated Project under the guidance of Professor Fernando Jardim, the project serves companies with a weak online presence, assisting them in building their digital identity.

The group demonstrated some of what is done during classes in Higher Education and reinforced, for the High School students, the importance of the project they are involved in as a starting point for developing a successful career.

At the event, Luiz also highlighted the importance of the initiative: “It’s important to emphasize that the ESEG Startup Summit is a historic event, involving students who chose to participate in this extracurricular course. As a result, throughout their journey, they have been able to access knowledge and practical development in entrepreneurship,” he points out.

The presentations

Three groups participated in the ESEG Startup Summit, each with 10 minutes to present and sell their ideas in a "Shark Tank" style to a panel composed of professors Edgard Rodrigues, Hong Yuh Ching, José Guilherme Campos, Paulo Kazuhiro Izumi, and Thales Sakamoto, from the ESEG Faculty. The winning group received a 100% scholarship as a prize for one of the institution's undergraduate courses.

Learn about the proposals from each group:

Vita Bands – Formed by students Aurora Lin Chen, Daniel Wenxiang Wu, Herry Kim Wen, and Yvan Fengwang from the Ana Rosa campus, the startup developed a Smart Band for Medical Monitoring. The rubber bracelet uses QR codes to store and streamline the flow of information within hospitals, with colors indicating different patient conditions, contributing to faster and more accurate care.

Pet Pulse – Representing the Vila Mascote unit, the group composed of Anne Takahashi, Arthur Santiago, Felipe Alencastro Silva, Giovanni Michele Cavalcanti, and Thomas Itano presented a smart collar equipped with sensors to measure heart rate (BPM), calorie expenditure, temperature, and GPS location. The proposal is to perform daily health monitoring of pets, anticipating potential risks with the support of an integrated application.

Sayle Created by students Arthur Furuchi dos Santos, Eduardo Farias Massaoka, Mariana Yumi Kavamura dos Santos, and Rafaela Bortone Rios from the Valinhos campus, the app connects consumers to physical stores, gathering information about promotions, available products, time spent in the establishments, and optimized routes. The focus is on facilitating the search for commercial information and reducing consumer frustration.

After the presentations, the judging panel announced the winning group: Pet Pulse, awarded the full scholarship.

One of the group members, Giovanni Michele, celebrated the result: “We thought about this idea from the beginning of the project and we came up with it out of nowhere, without even knowing what a [project/project] was.” startup. "Now we have a complete project and we are very happy not only with the participation, but also with the award for best group. I am excited to be a part of ESEG and I thank everyone for their presence today.".

The 2025 edition highlighted the creative potential of the students and reinforced the impact of the Grupo Etapa's excellent teaching on the academic and personal development of young people.