International finalists
Aster Center team progresses to global level of startup competition
2:15 p.m., Jan. 5, 2015--Following their selection as statewide champions of the Global Startup Battle, the Aster Center team has been named a finalist at the competition’s global level, besting thousands of other groups from over 250 cities in 83 countries.
The team, led by University of Delaware alumna Kiersten Jones Schwendeman and including current UD students Matt Chen and Davis Pfund, was announced as a finalist in two tracks of the competition on Dec. 8.
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This places Aster Center in the top 14 teams in the world in the Women’s Track, designed for women-led teams, as well as in the top 20 teams in the world in the KIND Track, for socially impactful businesses. They are also the first woman-led team from Delaware to ever make the global finals in this competition.
Also on the team are Pauline Rubin and John Himics of First Ascent Design and Tristan Campos, a student at the Delaware College of Art and Design.
The team members are working on their next goals for Aster Center, which seeks to improve resources for those with eating disorders. This work includes promoting their business concept through social media, exploring future technological initiatives and securing partnerships with key members of the Delaware health care community.
“Kiersten and the Aster Center team possess the type of entrepreneurial spirit that spurs continued economic growth in Delaware,” said Gov. Jack Markell. “We wish them continued success, both within the competition and as they continue to address this important need within the community.”
Schwendeman said that she is also hoping to work with Delaware government officials to pass an initiative that will improve insurance coverage of eating disorder care and other kinds of mental health care.
“Regardless of the outcome of the global competition, we have already won in my eyes,” said Schwendeman. “We have been able to form essential partnerships with countless members of the Delaware community who will be instrumental in helping us achieve our goals.”
“Additionally and most importantly, we have raised awareness for a cause that desperately needs it and opened up conversations with those with eating disorders across the state,” Schwendeman continued.
She added that she hopes patients of the Aster Center “feel supported and encouraged by knowing that we are aware of their suffering and are working to create change.”
This is the second time a Delaware team has made it to the global finals in this competition. Last year ProjectedU, a team made up of UD students in the Horn Program for Entrepreneurship, was selected as a global finalist under the supervision and advisement of mentors and coaches from the Horn Program and Start It Up Delaware.
Mona Parikh, managing director of Start It Up Delaware, helped to mentor the Aster Center team this year.
Schwendeman said that the encouragement she received from the communities of Start It Up Delaware and Great Dames Remarkable Entrepreneurs helped her gain the courage to share her idea and participate in the competition.
“I would like to thank everyone who voted for us to allow us to get this far in the competition,” she said. “We are on the cusp of revolutionizing eating disorder awareness and treatment across the nation and we could not have done any of it without support and votes from the Delaware community.”
For more information about the Aster Center, visit the center’s website and follow the team on twitter @theastercenter. Those who would be interested in assisting the team in any way can email theastercenter@gmail.com or complete the survey on the team’s website to help them compile essential information about eating disorder treatment in Delaware.