A course platform and tutoring service designed to help UCF students succeed in challenging accounting courses took home the top prize Monday in the 2025 Joust New Venture Competition, UCF’s version of the ABC TV show Shark Tank. Accuity, led by UCF alum and current master’s in accounting student Jake Glidden ’24, earned $12,000 in cash and more than $25,000 in in-kind business services.
The Joust is UCF’s annual premier startup showcase event, hosted by the College of Business’ Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and open to students of all majors. Competitors present their models for a viable business venture and compete to win money and other resources. This event celebrates student entrepreneurs, introduces them to community leaders and provides key resources to help launch their ventures.
Glidden and three other student teams made their pitches on stage at the Student Union to a panel of top-notch business leaders and entrepreneurs that included Jacques Fu ’08, co-founder of Stax and founder of PETE Learning; Kevin Miller, president and CEO of Addition Financial; Michael O’Donnell ’09, founder and CEO of MOD Ventures LLC; Michael Shannon ’76, managing principle of Liquid Strategies; and Justin Wetherill ’07, co-founder of UBreakiFix and president of Jeff’s Bagel Run.
“The best feedback that I heard today was just how good and clear the presentation was,” says Glidden, who earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from UCF and knows firsthand how challenging accounting classes can be and how desperately the industry needs young talent to combat a looming shortage. “I was able to make sure that my points were clear and [hear] how much the judges liked the product and how much they would have used it if they were 20 years younger or in college [now]. That was really great to hear.”
Accuity provides videos, exam reviews and one-on-one tutoring with a goal of improving pass rates and achieving 75% adoption among students.
The other winners of this year’s Joust competition are:
GISDATA.io, led by environmental studies major Parker Dinkins finished second, transforms how enterprises access and use geospatial data for energy, urban development, and environmental conservation. By consolidating over 2,000 data sources and 1 million datasets into one platform, it reduces search time and boosts efficiency, helping users make better decisions faster.
PURED, led by chemistry alum Andrea Bardales ’23MS ’24PhD, finished third and is a rapid, portable device for detecting multiple waterborne pathogens, ensuring safe water and public health. Designed for various users, from agencies to researchers and homeowners, it makes water quality monitoring seamless and accessible.
REEM, led by finance major Gad Lisker, finished fourth and uses artificial intelligence and Internet of Things technology to optimize rare Earth element recovery from e-waste, improving efficiency and reducing costs. With 95% detection accuracy and up to 10x higher recovery rates, the company aims to reclaim more than $1 billion in rare Earth metals, or REMS, annually by 2030, advancing sustainability and the circular economy.
For more information about the Joust New Venture Competition, a list of past winners and more, visit cel.ucf.edu/competition/joust-new-ventures-competition.
