September 18, 2025
Written by Chris Lindeke | Photos and Submissions by Craig Schreiner
Three students at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater will compete against some of the US premier schools this September in the final of Texas A&M University's National Faculty Pitch Competition “Building a Better Future Through Business and AI.”
Chad Tojugum, an entrepreneurship major in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, founded Rekurula, a startup driven by artificial intelligence that matches employers with candidates who are eligible for open jobs. The platform addresses the inefficiencies of the job search process using agent AI, in which AIG agents take autonomous actions to achieve human-established predefined goals.
Bella Biever, who graduated from Communications BS in May, oversees marketing and analysis for startups. Sadiq Wanyaka, a Computer Science major in Madison, Wisconsin, is a programmer for the company. A student at UW-Madison, John Mertz is also a programmer for the team.
“All of these students are intelligent and capable people. The kind of thing we want to represent the university,” said Bill Dougan, professor of business administration and co-director at UW-Whitewater's Launch Pad, a startup business accelerator who provided mentoring and support to Tjugum.
Ricrura, which also launched an AI voice interview practice tool for students over the summer, moved on from the 24-team field that gave a virtual pitch to a panel of AI and business experts in July. The team will present their startup plans directly to get the cash awards awarded to the top three Praser from September 19-20 at College Station, Texas, and the opportunity to combine them with Texas A&M entrepreneurial mentors for a year.
Other finalists include student teams from the University of Houston, George Washington University, Southern Methodist University, University of Maryland, University of Texas and Texas A&M.
Initially, students from 37 universities across the country submitted 103 proposals for competition. According to the university's Maze Business School, the proposal was assessed for innovation, market potential, feasibility and potential impact.
The road to Texas
Rikulla took part in the competition after being invited to E-Fest, the prestigious national pitch competition for undergraduate students run by the Foundation at St. Thomas University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Rikulra won top 25 and small prizes out of 220 teams.
As they compete nationwide for startup funding, the teams are working with the university to build a professional talent pool that can ultimately be sold to businesses.
“They put the startup together in a quick way that is often explained in the press,” Doogan said. “The team members are working very hard in the business and have achieved quite a noticeable success in the short term.”
Biever also participated in the Innovation Challenge, the sub-competition for the e-fest event, and won prizes as a member of the winning team in that contest. The contest challenged students to create brand new business plans and presentations and present the plans to the judges within a five-hour window.
Graduates
Beaver, a native of Stewartville, Minnesota, was initially drawn to the UW Whitewater location between Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago.
“I loved how everything was updated,” she said. “As soon as I stepped onto campus, it felt like a place where I grew up. The more I learned about UW Whitewater, the more I loved it.”
Bella Bieber, the communications major on the left, is a member of the 2024 Return Court, along with Major Cameron Calverson in Psychology, Major Gracie Hughes in Marketing, Major Angelina Izzo in Marketing, and Major Terry Alice Mimus in Journalism and Communication. (UW White Water Photo/Craig Shriner)
Beaver was highly decorated as an executive committee member of the DECA team at UW Whitewater during his tenure on campus. She was hired before graduation and continues to work as a wedding planner at elegant events in Lake Geneva.
Veteran startup veteran
Tjugum's path to Whitewater included the gap year after graduating from Sun Prairie East High School. His journey at UW Whitewater includes work from a rare coin wholesaler company that won support from Launchpad and won several awards as part of the DECA team.
Tjugum cited the Faculty of Business and Economics as an important factor in joining the Warhawk family.
“I had some friends who went there. I visited them and looked at the campus,” he said. “I enjoyed the process, the program and the professor during my campus.”
Chad Tsuggum, a leading entrepreneurship, took first place in the 2022 Warhawk Business Plan Competition. The Warhawk Business Plan Competition at the Whitewater Innovation Centre, hosted by the University Entrepreneur's Organization (CEO) took place on Wednesday, April 27th, 2022.
Tjugum is working in consultation with others, including Gener8Tor, one of the nation's most successful business accelerators, funding over 1,600 startups.
“Startups rely on external team members and resources as much as members and resources within the team due to the uncertainty and the substantial amount of change, revision and exploration needed to succeed,” Doogan said. “The resulting creativity, effort, insight and the need for improvisation encourages startup funders to bet on their teams as much as they bet on ideas.”
Transfer Success Story
Wanyaka is also a Launchpad scholar and is a member of UW-Whitewater's National Championship Winning Team, and will represent the United States later this month. A week after the Rikla team trip to TexasA&M, at the Eltas World Cup in Bangkok, Thailand.
Wanyaka stepped onto campus in 2023 after transferring from another institution, citing affordability and community to help tops attract UW Whitewater. He quickly discovered resources that include talented people available on campus.
“What I wanted from UW Whitewater has come to fruition,” he said. “I loved programming so I couldn't grow smoothly into entrepreneurship. I needed support in that transition, when I joined a club like Enactus and worked with people like Chad.”
Teacher support along the way
Each member of the Dynamic Warhawk trio continues to sell Rikura from across the country due to his experience at UW Whitewater.
Dougan and Frank Lanko, business career services managers at UW Whitewater, advise the group. Wanyaka praised the support of Dougan, Lanco and David Ghee, co-directors of Launchpad, throughout the business building process.
“They have been with us throughout the competition and have been helping us practice presentation styles,” Wanyaka said. “They were there from the start.”
