Latest news with #HultPrize
Entrepreneur
22-07-2025
- Business
- Entrepreneur
How a Digital Marketing Expert Uses AI to Help Startup Teams Punch Above Their Weight
Many startups struggle during the crucial scaling stages due to small teams juggling too much. Limited marketing budgets and a lack of expertise hold big dreams back and add to the challenges of already overwhelmed startups. But digital marketing expert Noor Mahe found a smart way. "With AI-powered content workflows, startups can reduce burnout and scale faster," says Noor. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. You're reading Entrepreneur Asia Pacific, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media. Thousands of startups are folding due to limited resources. Noor knows this deeply. While volunteering with the Hult Prize Foundation, Noor collaborated with student-led startups and supported accelerator programs focused on tackling urgent social issues. Later, through other experiences, he saw a different kind of pressure in investor-backed, for-profit ventures. The pattern was repeated, with two co-founders trying to do the work of twenty. They didn't have a dedicated marketing team, budget to hire specialists, or the time to keep up with abruptly changing technology. "Our investors only care about ROI," one CTO told him, "but no one sees the weight we carry." Noor saw it and decided to fix it. In fact, Noor undertook an independent research study that is gaining recognition among marketing professionals. Tired of hearing people say "just use ChatGPT for content creation" without a comprehensive AI strategy. Noor spent a year analyzing the performance of widely used generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Jasper, Claude, and focusing on social media content. His empirical study combined a practitioner-focused sentiment survey of 76 marketers with a textual analysis of thousands of AI-generated posts, assessing the AI-generated content for tone, empathy, and logical reasoning. The analysis uncovered striking variations. While all tools responded to the same prompt, they differed significantly in emotional depth, tone consistency, and persuasive quality, which are crucial in content strategy. Noor's work is one of the first to give practical, evidence-based guidance on using generative AI for social media. "This work has real academic and professional weight", said Noor. He is sharing his findings at the American Marketing Association in the 2025 Summer Academic Conference in Chicago, IL. It exemplifies Noor's unique expertise in digital marketing, AI, and entrepreneurship. He holds a STEM MBA from Hult International Business School in Boston. In 2018, the Hult Prize Foundation recognized him as the best campus director among over 1,000 schools worldwide, highlighting his leadership and commitment to innovation. Speaking about his mission to make AI more accessible and effective, Noor said, "Using every AI tool out there is not cool, it's about choosing the right ones, and guiding others to do the same." Noor is leading webinars on AI in digital marketing, actively mentoring peers in the industry and academia. He currently works in the higher education sector. He is among the strong voices on AI in digital marketing. His peers have taken note. One marketer shared, "This framework has completely changed how I approach social media content. I used to bounce between ChatGPT and Google's Gemini without much thought. Now I actually pause and choose the one that best fits the emotional tone I'm going for. When you're working solo or with a small team, that kind of clarity makes all the difference." Noor's work is helping people move from guesswork to strategy, making AI feel purposeful rather than overwhelming. His study is designed for small teams pursuing early wins while building long-term impact, like startups in the post-MVP traction phase. At this stage, dreams are big, but resources are razor-thin. Noor's framework helps startups cut costs by avoiding premature hiring or needing full in-house marketing teams. Just as importantly, it helps them navigate the fast-moving AI landscape with clarity. It's not about using every new tool—it's about using the right one, for the right task, with the right audience in mind.
SowetanLIVE
03-07-2025
- Business
- SowetanLIVE
SA student startup advances in $1m global Hult Prize competition
Urobo Biotech, a student-led South African startup using biotechnology to tackle plastic pollution, has been named one of the top 60 teams in the Hult Prize, a prestigious international competition offering $1m in seed funding to the world's most promising social enterprises. Run by the Hult Prize Foundation in partnership with Hult International Business School, the competition challenges university students to launch ventures that address urgent global issues. The announcement comes after a breakthrough year for the Hult Prize SA National Programme. In 2025, the initiative reached more than 25 higher education institutions with over 400 student startups participating, each tackling social or environmental challenges through entrepreneurship. The national momentum culminated in the first-ever Hult Prize SA National Showcase held on May 7 in Johannesburg. The event featured 22 top ventures from across the country, selected through campus-level competitions. Urubo Biotech placed second at the showcase. The venture impressed judges with its innovative biotech solution that uses enzymes and microbes to convert bioplastic waste into high-value fuels and chemicals.
TimesLIVE
03-07-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
SA student startup advances in $1m global Hult Prize competition
Urobo Biotech, a student-led South African startup using biotechnology to tackle plastic pollution, has been named one of the top 60 teams in the Hult Prize, a prestigious international competition offering $1m in seed funding to the world's most promising social enterprises. Run by the Hult Prize Foundation in partnership with Hult International Business School, the competition challenges university students to launch ventures that address urgent global issues. The announcement comes after a breakthrough year for the Hult Prize SA National Programme. In 2025, the initiative reached more than 25 higher education institutions with over 400 student startups participating, each tackling social or environmental challenges through entrepreneurship. The national momentum culminated in the first-ever Hult Prize SA National Showcase held on May 7 in Johannesburg. The event featured 22 top ventures from across the country, selected through campus-level competitions. Urubo Biotech placed second at the showcase. The venture impressed judges with its innovative biotech solution that uses enzymes and microbes to convert bioplastic waste into high-value fuels and chemicals.
News24
27-06-2025
- Business
- News24
‘How my gap year inspired an app that connects people with causes that matter'
During her gap year in 2022, Abigail Larsen volunteered at The King's Children's Home in East London as part of an outreach programme – and what she discovered shocked her to the core. About 50 children were living in a couple's backyard, sleeping in shipping containers because the home had reached full capacity. Despite the couple's extraordinary dedication, the home struggled with visibility and funding. It struck Abigail (now 21) that so many young people want to help but don't know where to start, while countless organisations doing vital work lack the support they need. That's when the idea for Thallo (Greek for 'to flourish') was born. It's a dynamic, youth-driven platform to connect volunteers with causes that matter. The dream began taking shape in November 2024 when Abigail, along with Mia Olivier (brand designer) and Michael Manly (app developer), entered the Hult Prize Challenge. Together, they began crafting the pitch for what would become Thallo. While volunteering across Africa and India, Abigail saw that many impactful organisations struggled with funding due to low visibility. She hopes Thallo will help solve this problem. This is her story. 'In July 2023, when I was in Mumbai, we visited an underfunded organisation caring for the dying in a crowded basement. Most patients didn't recover – they passed away with dignity. I remember thinking, 'If people only knew, they'd help. The truth is powerful, they just need to see it.' That's when I realised the world doesn't lack compassion, it lacks connection. There needs to be a platform that could create awareness about incredible organisations and give people the opportunity to partner with them to expand their impact. In Rwanda in 2023, I volunteered at Love With Actions, a school for disabled children working to break stigma. With just social media skills, I boosted their online presence and ran a successful stationery fundraiser – proof that even small efforts can make a big impact. At Durban's LIV Village, an outreach programme for vulnerable and orphaned children, I learned that, sometimes, just showing up and listening is enough. In every experience, I wished for one place to share what I'd seen, where people could discover and support these organisations. But at Kings Children's Home, the urgency hit. They were doing amazing work, yet few knew they existed. It's not just about volunteering – it's about visibility. South Africa has over 250 000 registered organisations. How many do you know? Many organisations focus so much on serving their cause that they lack the time or tools to raise awareness. Meanwhile, many young people want to help but don't know where to start. READ MORE| MY STORY | 'I found my purpose and a passion for cooking behind bars' Thallo aims to bridge that gap and make getting involved easy and rewarding by letting users follow, donate to or volunteer with organisations through their profiles. The platform will boost the visibility of organisations, helping them grow with more support, funding and volunteers. PHOTO: Supplied We've been taught to look inward for meaning, but that often leads to pressure and anxiety. In reality, serving others can lift us out of that. It gives purpose and reminds us our lives matter. Young people don't just want CV fillers. They want something real that makes them come alive. READ MORE| MY STORY | 'Olympiads and having fun are the key to my academic success' Thallo is still in its early days, and it will launch in early 2026. Turning the dream into reality has been tough. I've battled doubts about not being experienced or capable enough, especially while juggling studies as a BCom International Business student at Stellenbosch University. But I've learned to lean on God, knowing I'm not fully equipped but trusting that if He called me, He'll make a way. Making a difference begins with using what you have to love and serve those around you. As Mother Teresa said, If you want to change the world, go home and love your family.'
