Academics

Students earn $30,000 after pitch for potential social media app

Seniors (left to right) Allison Konners, Hannah Goldberg and Hunter Most earned $30,000 for their proposed social media app after making a compelling pitch. Credit: Penn State. Creative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- After months of preparation, three Penn State students stood before 500 strangers and four potential investors and outlined their pitch for an idea they believed deserved monetary support. They had seven minutes to make their case.

The “Shark Tank”-style competition, part of an international conference, sounds imposing, but Allison Konners and her partners were ready.

“It was challenging,” said Konners, a senior telecommunications major from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “We had practiced a lot and put our hearts into it, though. We were confident.”

Their confidence proved appropriate, as Konners and fellow seniors Hannah Goldberg and Hunter Most earned $30,000 in the competition coordinated by Aish HaTorah, an apolitical network of Jewish educational centers in 35 branches on five continents. Goldberg is a mechanical engineering major from Philadelphia and Most is an industrial engineering major from Bucks County.

The students’ winning idea focused on a college campus-based social media app for Jewish students. 

Now, with a pledge of funding, additional investors interested and meetings next week in New York City, the students face an even more daunting challenge -- making their vision a reality. They hope to launch “Who Jew Know” by next fall on several college campuses, including Penn State.

Konners serves as CEO, with Goldberg as chief marketing officer and Most as chief operations officer. They know successful implementation of the app idea requires much more manpower than just the three of them, though. So, start-up staffing also sits atop their growing to-do list.

“There’s so much to be done, and it’s all on our shoulders,” Konners said. “It’s a little overwhelming but also exciting. We think it’s a good idea, so we’re excited to make it happen.”

According to the students’ outline, the app would include four distinct sections: a calendar; a trading post, which serves as a virtual marketplace; a travel section, which accommodates everything from ride shares to birthright trips; and a Jewish geography section that would provide a visual connection of those using the app, ostensibly showing how all users might be just a couple of connections apart.

Last Updated June 2, 2021