A nontoxic mosquito repellent that lasts for three days took a top award at Harvard Business School’s New Venture Competition on April 18, 2018. The pitch for “Hour 72+” came from Abraar Karan, MPH ’17, and Andrew Rothaus, HBS ’18.
The competition included 360 Harvard student and alumni teams vying for $315,000 in cash prizes and in-kind prizes in student business, social enterprise, and alumni tracks. Hour 72+ won the Dubilier $75,000 grand prize in the student business category, which had 127 entries.
During their pitch, Karan and Rothaus said that their new mosquito repellent is not sticky, doesn’t smell bad, doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals, and is nearly 100% effective for three days with just one application. Karan said in a tweet that he and Rothaus plan to pitch their repellent to the Gates Foundation for potential mass rollout in endemic countries.
Read a Harvard Business School article and watch a video pitch of Hour 72+ from Karan and Rothaus: Harvard Business School Names Winners of 21st New Venture Competition at Finale
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Student team pitches long-lasting insect repellent (Harvard Chan School feature)