Sasin’s ReNew startup team was recently announced as the winner of the Heartland Challenge Elevator Pitch Competition. The team won US$3,000 in prize money. ReNew was among 12 semi-finalist teams from institutions such as Johns Hopkins University, Rice University, Tufts University and other top universities. Sasin’s team was the only semi-finalist from outside the United States. The inaugural Heartland Challenge is an annual high-growth, startup competition for graduate student entrepreneurs organized by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s competition was held online. Congratulations to the members of the ReNew team – Kawisara Jongkolratanaporn, Pinnapa Phetcharatana, Shotirose Poramesanaporn – and the team advisors, Deputy Director Nick Pisalyaput and Sasin Sustainability and Entrepreneurship Center Project Manager Tanachote Vongsurbchart. This was the second competition accolade for ReNew in as many months. In May, the team was named First Runner-Up of the SCG Bangkok Business Challenge @ Sasin 2020, winning US$5,000 in prize money. ReNew offers a disruptive, patent-protected bio-coating solution that strengthens cellulose-based materials such as paper, cardboard, wood, and fabrics. The solution is applied via a simple coating process done in under five minutes. Nanoparticles in the solution deeply penetrate to strengthen cellulose fibers, while the biopolymers’ hydrophobic qualities protect it from water, mold, and fungi without increasing weight and volume. Our solution strengthens and protects lower-grade boxes, reducing the need for additional wood chips that demand more deforestation, ultimately saving an immense amount of water, trees, and costs.