The Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship’s seventh annual College-by-College Pitch Off is underway with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences hosting its competition this past Tuesday, Feb. 20.
The LAS College-by-College Pitch Off began with students competing against fellow classmates for first- and second-place prizes of $500 and $250, respectively.
Students showcased their business plans within two categories: New ideas and existing business ideas, for those that have already moved past the concept stage. Each student was allotted 90 seconds to give their pitch, followed by two minutes of follow-up questions by the judges.
Jacob Kautman, a senior in history, earned the first-place award for his existing business idea, Campus Town Trading. Campus Town Trading aims to provide financial education for anyone looking to get involved in the financial markets. The runner-up for the existing business idea award was Spenser Leise, a sophomore in advertising, and his company Songbird Music Decor. Songbird Music Decor is an e-commerce platform that specializes in custom posters for music listeners. Songbird posters offer in-depth information and customizations for albums and songs alike.
The winner from the new idea pitches was Hala Deng, a senior in biology, whose business idea, Med Trans, focuses on providing consumers with a medical translating device that can break down medical jargon and relay it back to the patient in its definitive form. The device would allow patients to have a medical understanding of complex medical terminology during consultations. The runner-up in the new business pitch was Braden Hickman, a junior in environmental science, who pitched an idea for Sky Harvest. Sky Harvest is a drone based chemical applicator or seeder for any agricultural field across the United States specializing in topically-complicated areas and direct sprays.
These students will move on to the finals of the Pitch-Off on Tuesday, Feb. 27 in the Launchpad of the Student Innovation Center, where they will compete for the grand prize of $5,000 for each category.