UNH students win $3,000 at national entrepreneurship competition

Three University of New Hampshire students earned national recognition—and a $3,000 prize—for their business venture, Granite State Systems, at the prestigious Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge in Minneapolis in late April. 

The students, Shea Garland, Rowan Baptista, and Brett Schulz came in third place after spending three days at the entrepreneurship event. 

Schulz, a senior at UNH who is from North Reading, Massachusetts, thought of the idea for their company through his experience working in the grocery industry, where energy costs can make up 70% of facility expenses.

“I knew that electricity prices can be extremely volatile in New Hampshire especially, I thought, ‘What if we just don’t focus on the efficiency piece and focus on the timing of the consumption?’ Schulz said.

Granite State Systems uses sensors to reduce energy costs by pre-cooling or pre-heating facilities when electricity prices are lowest—saving operators an estimated $5,000 a month and 20 hours of manual monitoring per week.

The UNH team was selected as one of 25 finalists from hundreds of entries across the country.

“The pitch line competition was incredibly informative,” Schulz said after competing on the first day. “It was really inspiring to see all the other teams present their ideas.”

Schulz has a Fulbright grant to pursue a research project on Prince Edward Island in Canada focused on creating policies that promote energy saving technology.

“I really want to enter a career in the public sector as I continue to work on these sorts of ventures,” he said.