UTC students and local veterans showcased their entrepreneurial spirit with two competitions to test their business ideas.The UTC CEO (Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization) sponsored a campus-wide elevator pitch competition to provide capital support and practical guidance to students interested in venture creation.
The winners of the competition received an all-expenses-paid trip to a regional CEO pitch competition at the University of Tampa, a scholarship of $2,000, and three hours of free consulting services from the Company Lab, a start-up support network which developed the Gig Tank and “Will This Float?” entrepreneurial competitions.
Students pitched ideas ranging from customized beach storage units to an app that tracks health behaviors by way of a fashionable bracelet receptor. The six winners of Round One will repeat their pitches in front of a panel of entrepreneurs at the Hamilton County Small Business Development Center on January 16th, when the final winning team will be selected.
The winning teams of Round 1 include:
– SeaOats Storage – Nathan Winters and Alex Moore - Angry River Urban Whitewater Center – Jerry King, Ginger Duggan, Jim Stone, and Jason Lawhorn - KAR, Inc – Joshua Kapellusch - String Advantage – Peter Sauska and Carlos Garcia - Spikedweddingpunch.com – Alyse and Laura Flack - Health Stalker – Shelby Englund, Lydia Mullins, and Nadeen Hibbard
For more information on the UTC CEO pitch competition, visit http://utcceo.com.
Students weren’t the only ones pitching their business ideas. Sal Cariglio, graduate of the UTC College of Business Veterans Entrepreneurship Program (VEP) and his wife Donna think they have the answer to a messy situation in pathology labs.
The two worked in the industry for most of their careers, they found that pathology slides have no home in a standard filing system used in most hospitals and medical offices. Instead, they spill out of files, getting separated from their patient information and generally create a mess for those using them day-to-day.
The answer? A simple, but revolutionary slide filing system that fits into any standard filing cabinet along with its accompanying files. This new product was one of 18 entrepreneurial ideas invited to pitch at the Company Lab’s “Will This Float?” competition, where the Cariglios caught the attention of Erlanger and Memorial Hospitals’ pathology labs as well as the CDC in Atlanta.
To learn more about the slide file system, visit http://www.slidefilesystem.com/
The College of Business will continue to support students’ entrepreneurial dreams by hosting the Company Lab’s Springboard program on campus in spring semester 2013.
Springboard is an eight-week business-planning course designed to help creative and small business owners become more sustainable in their business ventures.
