In the competitive world of startup businesses, alumni of Boise State’s Venture College stand out. Through their startup incubator, pitch competitions and interdisciplinary partnerships on campus and throughout the state, Venture College bridges classroom experience with industry impact to launch the next generation of entrepreneurs.
It’s no surprise, then, that four of the 10 semifinalists advancing to this year’s Startup World Cup Regional Qualifiers are Venture College alumni.
The Startup World Cup is a high-energy competition that brings top entrepreneurs, investors and industry leaders from around the globe together to discover the next big startup success story. These trailblazing founders compete regionally for a place at the finals in San Francisco this October, where they vie for a $1 million investment prize.
The Startup World Cup Regional Qualifiers will take place from 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, July 10 at Trailhead Boise. on from 5-7 p.m.
Chris Dagher
Chris Dagher graduated with a bachelors in engineering and is currently pursuing a PhD in computing at Boise State. Together with Oliver MacDonald (BS Engineering ’24), Dagher co-founded QTex AI Inc., which develops AI-powered tools that improve engineering workflows and data management across the product development cycle. QTex’s flagship platform, PartWise, uses conversational AI to help electrical engineers quickly find and select electronic components, boosting speed, design quality and product longevity. Focusing on solving high-impact inefficiencies in the $500 billion+ electronics design and manufacturing sector, QTex AI plans to expand across industries.
The Fall 2024 Venture College Incubator helped set QTex up for success by teaching the team to slow down and build a business.
“Both Oliver and I are engineers but haven’t started a business before,” Dagher said. “It was easy for us to jump in and design a product, but harder to design a company around that. The Venture College Incubator gave us practice with pitching ourselves and our company, creating a sales pipeline, marketing plans and financial modeling that we otherwise would not have had.”
In 2025, QTex AI has been a winning team at Idaho Entrepreneur Week, Hackfort Tech Challenge and Trailhead’s Spring Boise Pitch Night.
Luke Larkin
TARU Recovery is an AI-powered platform that provides real-time voice interventions for tech-based addictions including gambling, gaming and social media. Luke Larkin, who holds degrees in medicine and psychology, worked with clinical psychiatrists and therapists to develop the platform. Using an evidence-based, trauma-informed approach, TARU provides personalized care unique to each user’s recovery journey. Luke partnered with Anna Manaseryan, a computer science master’s student at Boise State, on Taru’s AI engine.
“I am most excited about serving millions of people who are currently suffering from digital addiction in isolation,” Larkin said. “Creating a solution that transforms how people interact with technology provides an opportunity for them to fundamentally shift their relationship with themselves. Leveraging rapid advancements in AI to restore human agency represents a paradigm shift in mental health care. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to work on this problem.”
TARU Recovery won third place in the tech track at this year’s Idaho Entrepreneur Week and is a 2025 alum of the Venture College Incubator.
Nick Stoppello
Nick Stoppello holds an MBA with an emphasis in construction management from Boise State. In 2021, he and his business partner Patrick Churchman co-founded Flashpoint Building Systems, a company that laser engraves blueprints directly onto the subfloor of building construction projects. This patent-pending process allows for vertical construction to begin faster, and aims to cut down on costly “rework” — construction that needs to be redone due to errors or omissions.
Flashpoint Building Systems has been featured in Forbes magazine and the International Builders’ Show. The company secured $10,000 of funding from the Venture College’s Hacking for Homebuilding, and $50,000 at the 2023 Boise Entrepreneur Week Pitch Competition.
“Hacking for Homebuilding and the support we got from Venture College thrust us into the spotlight and exposed us to a community that we didn’t know existed,” Stoppello said. “It gave us a platform and a microphone to share what we are about, and it continues to provide us with opportunities.”
Donald Young
Donald Young holds an associates degree in public health from Uniformed Services University. Young’s experience as a combat medic inspired him to found his company, Rattler Medical Solutions, which develops technology to support healthcare delivery in challenging environments.
The company manufactures a Cold Whole Blood Cooler that extends the safe transport of blood — critical for life-saving measures in remote or conflict areas. The battery-powered cooler enhances the capabilities of military and civilian emergency responders, improving outcomes in trauma care scenarios. Rattler is committed to reliability, user-focused design, and responsive support tailored to clients’ unique needs.
“I am most excited to be able to get our product into the market and be able to see the difference it makes not just for military use cases, but for civilian Emergency Medical Services as well,” Young said. “As this market grows and areas become more heavily populated, the capability for EMS to carry and administer blood in the field is truly life saving.”
Rattler Medical Solutions was a winning team at the 2024 Boise Entrepreneur Week Pitch Competition, 2024 Idaho Veterans & Spouse Shark Tank, and 2019 Idaho Entrepreneur Week.