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Team LutumPotentia created a buzz at the second annual President’s Innovation Challenge with its proposal to use black soldier fly larvae to compost food waste. 

The team took home the first-place trophy after a yearlong competition that challenged UNLV undergraduate and graduate students from across disciplines to work in teams and develop solutions to chart the course to a more sustainable future in Southern Nevada and beyond.

This year’s competition, powered by Honeywell and the , came to a head on May 1 when six teams presented their business solutions to a panel of community and UNLV judges. 

Third place and $10,000 went to team Scarlet and Green for its app that allows businesses, including casinos and resorts, to divert food waste from landfills to customers experiencing food insecurity. Second place and $15,000 went to team YouChef for its app that allows users to scan the food in their fridge and retrieve recipes based on the available ingredients. 

First place and the $25,000 grand prize (plus an additional $5,000 thanks to a surprise gift from the Latin Chamber of Commerce) went to team LutumPotentia, which includes:

• Nour Benjelloun, B.A. Philosophy
• Andres Carrasco, BSBA Marketing
• Ryder Hankins, BSBA Marketing and International Business 
• Scott Luk, M.S. Management Information Systems
• Angie Shenouda, B.A. Gender and Sexuality Studies

The team recently reflected on the competition and their win. 

How did your team come together?

Benjelloun: We heard about the competition through the Global Entrepreneurship Experience program in the Lee Business School. 

A few of us competed in last year’s President’s Innovation Challenge but on different teams. This year, I reached out and said “How cool would it be to work together?” We knew each other before. I’ve known Ryder, Scott, and Angie for four years and Andres for three years. 

What was your proposal, and why is it important to do what you’re suggesting?

Hankins: Instead of focusing on the solution, we really focused on the problem, which was composting. We focused on making composting easier.

Dairies, oils, fats, meats — you can’t compost them. That problem was making composting so difficult, so people weren’t doing it. We wanted to make it easier. So we found black soldier flies. Their larvae eat everything except wood and bone. So we can take food waste that isn’t compostable; let the larvae eat it for 30 days; and before they turn into flies, dry the larvae and turn it into powder so it can be used as nutrient-rich fertilizer or animal feed. 

Benjelloun: We broke it down into five phases. The pilot project would start at UNLV with Aramark (the campus dining vendor). Right now, UNLV pays $9 per truck going to the pig farm. But with our business model, it would be $4 per truck. The next phase would be UNLV Housing. The third phase would be businesses around UNLV, and the fourth would be expanding from there. 

Luk: If Aramark at UNLV goes well, we want to expand to other Aramark universities. Another potential client is smaller casinos.

What inspired your idea?

Hankins: Nour, Scott, and I last year went abroad to Italy through the Global Entrepreneurship Experience program, and we toured an area focused on sustainability where they take waste and find new life with it. We were really inspired by that.

Benjelloun: We did some research and found out Texas A&M has a successful black soldier fly program. There’s another program in Indonesia. That was one of the things that we talked about in our presentation is how it’s already a successful concept.

What was it like working with your mentors Dave Ray, ImpactNV president, and Lauren Boitel, ImpactNV executive director?

Benjelloun: Dave was my professor, and Lauren was Scott and Ryder’s professor. So I reached out to Dave because he has a background in sustainability, and he and Lauren could tell us if our ideas were actually possible. We met with them about once a month, and they would give us feedback and ask us questions that the judges would ask us during the competition.  

Hankins: For those of us in the Global Entrepreneurship Experience program, Lauren and Dave really introduced us to the business part of sustainability. They were the ones who took us on a trip to the Silver Knights arena, ARIA, and the Convention Center to see how businesses do it. It was really inspiring. 

Did a lot change with your proposal between when the competition started and where you ended up?

Luk: Initially, we wanted to have accessible composting bins in dining rooms and residential halls, but we were on the brink of elimination from the competition because it wasn’t innovative enough. 

Shenouda: Dave connected us with Tara Pike, UNLV sustainability coordinator and recycling manager,  because she has a lot of knowledge in this area. We asked Tara about other ways of processing compost that could help our idea become more realistic. One of the things she suggested was that we watch a video of black soldier flies eating a hamburger. We were astonished! After a lot of workshopping, this led us in the direction we went in.

Luk: In terms of impact, Tara was the number one influence we had. Even though technically she wasn’t our mentor, she answered a lot of our questions and was so supportive. The Southern Nevada Health District also answered a lot of questions about laws and regulations.

Benjelloun: Aramark and (Aramark district manager) Wade Noon were really influential too.

What was your team’s process as the competition unfolded?

Carrasco: We met whenever we had the chance, and we broke it down into specialties. Nour is a law and regulation person, so he tackled things with the Southern Nevada Health District. I’m more marketing, so I focused on making things and the presentation. Ryder is our speaker, so he came up with our hook. Scott focused on the research and benefits of what we’re proposing. Angie is the sustainability expert. 

How were you feeling before, during, and after the final round?

Hankins: We got together at noon and started practicing, and we were freaking out. I said, “Let’s not worry about winning. Let’s just worry about completing the presentation.” That was the approach we took. Do the best we can, and that’s all we can do. When they announced LutumPotentia as the winning team, we were all really happy. For me, it validated the hours, days, and months sitting in the Tonopah Residence Complex conference room until 3 a.m. trying to figure out what to put in our finances, and what questions the judges were going to ask. It made it all worth it. It would have been worth it no matter what because I liked working with everyone so much. 

What’s next for your team?

Hankins: That’s still something we’re trying to figure out. We all wanted to win, but we weren’t expecting it really. We have to have an official meeting to figure out our next steps. We have the means now, so we can actually do something. Everything was hypothetical, and now it’s not. We want to make sure we come forward with a solid plan so that whatever we do is successful. 

What would you tell someone considering participating in next year’s competition?

Hankins: You won’t know if you don’t try. The worst thing that can happen is they say no, so why say no to yourself? Learning to be adaptive outweighs any first-place trophy. Plus, there were five other teams, and each team had an amazing idea. Getting to hear different ideas was so cool.

Benjelloun: Take it as an opportunity for growth. Focus on growing your skills and on networking. Talk to all the judges. I’ve been able to push myself. Growth never comes from comfort zones. 

Shenouda: As long as you have passion, you can do it. Hone in on your strong suits, and it’s going to go well. 

Carrasco: It’s not only about your GPA. It’s about your involvement, too. Employers want to see that hunger, that drive, so be ambitious.