CEI awards prizes for top pitches in inaugural competition

The Trulaske College of Business Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) hosted its first Idea Pitch Competition for students on April 10, 2019.

Joseph Hagan, Nathan Brown and Lauren Williams won first, second and third place, respectively. Finance and banking senior Joseph won $1,000 for his pitch of Game Pay, an eSports app that provides the opportunity for casual gamers to compete like professional gamers in tournaments and competition. Marketing senior Nate won $500 with his pitch of app Barcrawl, while Lauren Williams won $250 for The Plug.

“This event gave students an opportunity to learn to craft a pitch, get feedback on their ideas, network, and earn cash prizes,” said Sara Cochran, CEI Interim Director. “We were pleased with the turnout and had several students thank us for the practice and opportunity, regardless of their placement.”

The pitch competition consisted of two rounds. During the first round, each student pitched to a two-judge panel and audience. Six finalists were then invited to pitch in the final round to all four of the judges who commented on the difficulty of selecting the winners.