Three Dartmouth startups have made a splash in the global competition for The Hult Prize, run by Hult International Business School and backed by Former President Bill Clinton, with one Dartmouth endeavor finishing within the top sixteen teams in the world.

Sea Energy, led by co-founder Calvin Benson ’25, won first place in the Hult Summit Dubai, earning the team a spot at the Hult Prize Global Accelerator, held in London in August. There, 16 winning teams from regional summits around the globe competed for $1 million in funding. Sea Energy finished as one of ten runners up.

“We kept receiving positive feedback that this is a great idea, and our team is really strong,” Benson said. “That is really what the judges said pushed us to be the winner: being dynamic and charismatic, with a multifaceted and committed team.”

Two other Dartmouth teams also did well in their competitions. NET Offset, a public benefit corporation using supply chain optimization to transform the bioenergy industry, placed in the top six teams in the Hult Prize Monterrey, Mexico Summit. NovaChirp, a cricket superfood startup dedicated to tackling global malnutrition and promoting sustainability, competed in the Hult Summit in Lisbon, Portugal and was later selected for the 2nd Chance Hult Prize Interviews.

A pleasant surprise in Dubai

Going into the Hult Prize competition, the Sea Energy team knew that they were at a very early stage compared to many other competitors. The team had created their initial prototype during the DartUP: Social Blueprint Challenge. DartUP is a student program of the Magnuson Center focused on social entrepreneurship.

Despite the idea being young, the team was passionate about it.

“We felt we deserved to make it to Dubai, but we doubted we were going to win because we haven’t made much traction yet,” Benson said.

However, judges were impressed by Sea Energy’s goal, diversity, and skilled set of founders. Emily Masuda D’24, TH’25 and Eva Hymes ’25 wowed the judges with their engineering skills, Shaamil Shaw Alem ’26 demonstrated a knowledge of venture capital, and Arjun Brar Georgetown University ’25 covered the finances of bringing their vision to reality, Benson said.

Masuda said she experienced some imposter syndrome going into the Dubai competition, but throughout the process “my biggest takeaway was that sometimes you’ve just got to try out for things and apply yourself, and you can get further than you expect.”

The team pitched their idea on the first day of the competition in Dubai. On the second night, six finalists were announced and asked to immediately pitch for a second time, with no preparation. The second team called was Sea Energy.

“There was this surge of emotions and excitement, knowing we needed to stand up right now and give pitch our pitch,” Benson said. “That was really nerve-racking and exciting. I think we did a great job of taking that nervous excitement and turning it into passionate energy during our pitch.”

Shortly after, the Sea Energy team was announced as the winner of the summit, qualifying them to advance to the London Accelerator, a precursor to the Hult Prize Global Finals.

Considering smaller steps at the Global Accelerator

In London, it was immediately clear that most teams had more experience than Sea Energy, but that “was a really positive growth experience for us,” Benson said.

“All these teams had been through it, and done a lot of things right and a lot of things wrong, which they were able to tell us about,” he added.

Being around the finalists, judges, and mentors was a surreal experience.

“My biggest takeaway has to be what an amazing, bright, creative, and socially conscious generation of entrepreneurs there are in the world today,” Brar said. “I got to meet dozens of different teams from dozens of different countries, all of which have world-changing ideas and abilities. I learned so much from every one of them, and I made friends for life.”

Over three weeks in London, the Sea Energy team was able to refine their idea, advance their prototype, and envision a clearer path to market. They met with lawyers, business owners, and investors, and learned from the experiences of their fellow entrepreneurs.

From talking with other teams, they gleaned the importance of making small steps forward to prove their technology and build relationships. The team was initial looking to harness their technology to sell electricity to utility companies on a large scale. Now, they’re looking toward smaller stepping stones, like creating portable charging devices that campers and outdoor enthusiasts can use.

“We’re thinking, ‘what could be our first step? What can we accomplish in the next three months?’” Benson said.

The mentorship and work in London culminated in a final pitch that the team was extremely proud of.

“Looking back at our previous pitches, it was clear how much we had grown as entrepreneurs and as a team,” Brar said. “Even though we weren't announced as a finalist, we were happy with our progress.”

A network of support

For the students on the Sea Energy team, participating in the Hult Prize advanced their interest in entrepreneurship, while also underscoring the real-world challenges of bringing an idea to market.

“We’re very excited at the potential, but also feeling that this pursuit is daunting,” Benson said. “If we want to make this a reality, it’s going to be a lot, a lot, a lot of work.”

That work, however, is made easier by the many resources are available to them as Dartmouth students, Masuda said.

“At Thayer, there are always resources available,” she said. “We have the materials, the machine shop… Everything is at our fingertips to prototype and make things.”

The guidance and support from the Magnuson Center was also instrumental.

“I thought it would be difficult for me since I go to a different university than the rest of the team, but Jamie Coughlin, Sarah Morgan, and the rest of the team at Magnuson made the whole process seamless and helped give me an unforgettable experience I'll cherish for life,” Brar said.

Those Dartmouth resources, coupled with the knowledge and network the team gained during the Hult Prize Summit, could eventually help Sea Energy Inc change power generation around the globe.

“We have tools for our business going forward, and the resources to prototype,” Masada said. “Plus, now we have a whole network of people we can lean on.”