Cryptix wins top prize at UCSB New Venture Competition
Cryptix founders Brayden Curry and Nick Martitsch.
Ticketing platform software company Cryptix took home the $10,000 top prize at the UC Santa Barbara New Venture Competition on May 24.
Hosted by the school’s Technology Management Program, the competition is the origin of such Santa Barbara companies as Inogen, Apeel Sciences, TrackR, Salty Girl Seafood and others. All of the participants walked away with some seed capital, but second place winner Delta Leaf Labs took home two checks worth a combined $12,500.
The presentation was the culmination of years of planning and months of work, starting with a journal full of ideas their freshman year, said Cryptix founders Nick Martitsch and Brayden Curry.
“The growth from beginning to end is just a testament to how strong the program is here at UCSB,” Martitsch said.
Cryptix’s real-world investigation and market validation were what put the company over the top for the first place prize, said Steve Zahm, president and co-founder of Procore, who judged the competition.
“The group that won had gone out and solved a real market problem with tremendous potential and had done so through a process of talking to actual potential customers and users,” Zahn said. “That shows that their business model is something that could actually grow into a successful venture.”
The winners, with award sponsors in parentheses:
1st Place: Cryptix, $10,000
2nd Place (Digital Instruments): Delta Leaf Labs $12,500
3rd Place: Wanderlease, $5,000
California Nanosystems Institute People’s Choice and Honorable Mention (Procore): Collatera, $7,500
Honorable Mention (TrackR): PhantaField, $2,500
Honorable Mention (Yardi): Organic Matters, $2,500
• Contact Marissa Nall at mnall@pacbiztimes.com.
