Left to right: Adam Smith, Marcus Whitt, Luiz Stein, Daxe J. Sykes, Kimberly Williams, Natoshia Davis-Scott, Joshua Monroe
Pitch competitions are exciting events to be part of. Aspiring entrepreneurs have precious few minutes to share their vision with the crowd. Then, they have to convince a panel of judges who have been there/done that why their idea is worthy of funding.
At the recent Fishman Entrepreneur of the Year pitch competition (presented by the Steven and Barbara Fishman Center for Entrepreneurship), six students competed for $5,000 in startup capital. The panel of judges featured local business luminaries who grilled the young moguls on issues such as scalability of their businesses, proof of concept and so on.
Adam Smith, a Columbia College business administration student, won the competition for his idea, Solar Nomad. Smith’s business would allow people to construct their own solar panels, helping reduce monthly utility costs. Smith received $3,000 in startup capital and will serve a one-year term on the Fishman Center for Entrepreneurship advisory board.
“It was exciting to see the number of student startups participating in the competition,” said Raja Bhattacharya, director of the Fishman Center for Entrepreneurship. “Really, all of these students are winners, as each will receive a year’s worth of guidance from the Fishman Center.”
Natoshia Davis-Scott and Kimberly Williams, students at Columbia College-St. Louis, took second place for their idea, Wiggin’ It. The pair received $2,000 in startup capital for their venture, which involves providing wigs for individuals affected by hair loss.
