Higher Ed Utah

(University of Utah) – A student entrepreneurial team at the University of Utah believes it has come up with a winning business plan for a virtual ID badge that operates off of any mobile device. The team, calling itself EMRID Technologies, developed a product that could be used in place of other common electronic ID badges used by hospitals, defense companies or other firms where securing data is of the utmost importance.

“We essentially replaced traditional username and password authentication systems with a proprietary virtual ID badge,” said Austin Aerts, CFO of EMRID Technologies, and accounting student at the David Eccles School of Business. “We knew we had this great idea, but entering Opportunity Quest really taught us the difference between a great idea and a great business plan.”

Other EMRID team members were Emily Theisen, CEO of EMRID, and Ph.D student David Kent of the U’s College of Pharmacy, who is also a student at the S.J. Quinney College of Law.

EMRID’s business plan recently bested 23 entries made by undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students in the business school’s annual Opportunity Quest competition. More than 200 students, mentors, advisors and business team members gathered to contribute to the multi-round competition. Business plan submissions stemmed from the medical, chemical, technological, athletic, social, security and educational fields.

Numerous colleges across Utah host separate Opportunity Quest competitions. Top teams, like EMRID, advance to the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge at the U for a chance to win $40,000. EMRID hopes their technology is innovative enough to win the top prize.

“Employees constantly use personal mobile devices for professional activities, yet sensitive information must continue to be protected by company and governmental standards,” Aerts said. “EMRID offers a simple — yet elegant — solution to this by turning mobile devices into virtual ID badges. In doing so, they don’t need to enter a password that can be hacked and the device can facilitate professional use of personal devices while working within the constraints of current IT and security systems.” More…