GiftAMeal, a Washington University student-run start-up company and app formerly known as FoodShare, won the St. Louis RECESS regional semifinal at the Pageant Theatre on Tuesday, and will advance to the national championship in Los Angeles on June 9 where they will have the chance to win $250,000.

The start-up, which claimed victory ahead of teams from Saint Louis University and Webster University, rebranded last Thursday, changing their name from FoodShare to GiftAMeal in order to better reflect their business model.

This model consists of restaurants paying the company a monthly fee, which they do in anticipation of the promotion that GiftAMeal affords them. With these monthly fees, GiftAMeal donates a meal to those in need for every meal purchased at participating locations, promotes the restaurant and turns a profit.

RECESS, which is hosting the competition, is a nationwide entrepreneurial tour, with a competition format similar to TV’s “Shark Tank,” organized in conjunction with Social Programming Board (SPB) and Olin Business Council.

Junior Rahool Bhimani, SPB president, noted that the event represented a new approach to programming for the organization.

“I think this was a little bit different than what we normally do with events on campus in that it involves an outside organization and other schools,” he said. “I really think it was a success though, and seeing the strength of the ideas our community produced was really special.”

The event was followed by a concert by rapper Tory Lanez.

“The concert was a fun way to end the night,” Bhimani said. “Both Tory [Lanez] and [opener] BJ the Chicago Kid were talented, and the show was a great opportunity for Wash. U. students.”

Despite advancing in the competition, GiftAMeal co-founder and junior Andrew Glantz noted that his focus is not specifically on the competition.

“The big thing isn’t really focused on the competition—it’s on measurably growing the business over the course of the next month before the competition begins,” he said. “So we see the competition as being five or six weeks from now, and that’s a lot of time in terms of a start-up.”

Glantz also noted that the rebrand will not affect how the business operates.

“It doesn’t change anything for us fundamentally,” he said. “It’s just intended to better reflect what we do.”