‘Idea Pitch’ entrepreneurial winners announced

winners of 2nd pitch at Stetson University with the judges.2 copyThe winners for Stetson University’s second annual “Idea Pitch” competition were named last month at an event sponsored by the Stetson Entrepreneurial Group (SEG). There were 73 unique pitches entered on the Stetson Entrepreneurial Group Facebook page and from these, 18 pitches were selected for the final live presentation.

Seven entrepreneurs from around Central Florida came to judge the event. They were: Jim Atkinson, founder and executive director of PASS, an NPO based in Edgewater, Fla., which provides employment services to persons with disabilities; Jayne Rocco, current owner and operator of Calamity Jayne’s Nightclub in DeLand, whose philanthropic cause is advocating for domestic violence victims; Connie Bernal, associate director/site manager of the UCF Business Incubator at Daytona Beach International Airport; Walter (Marty) Cummins, Jr., lawyer, who is now devoting his time to developing and implementing the Enlightened Capitalism philosophy which advocates “doing well by doing good” in business; Clayton Louis Ferrara, current executive director of IDEAS for US and the director of Science at Ampersand, a K-12 Private School; Regina Henderson who recently sold AFC Global Logistics, a company providing freight forwarding services to Fortune 500 companies; and John Meyer, managing director/majority owner of Kermit’s Key West Key Lime Shoppe, that sells gourmet food with key limes as one of the main ingredients. Meyer’s pies were recently featured in a National Geographic food magazine devoted to “foods you must try in your lifetime.”

The competition had two categories (Social and For-Profit), and the winners are:

Social
1st: Jose Rosales
2nd: Ryan Day and Patrick Tobin
3rd: Caroline Skinner

For-Profit
1st: Blake Jackson
2nd: Annie Roche
3rd: Julie Bassett and Claudia Sea Kalin

Prizes of $300 for first, $200 for second and $100 for third, were awarded for both categories. But the real lessons came from suggestions given by the judges and practicing Entrepreneurial Selling in front of a packed crowd of 130 students gathered in the Rinker Auditorium inside Stetson’s Lynn Business Center.

Next semester the SEG will be hosting a Stetson Pitch contest with ideas that will solve a problem or add to the vibrancy of Stetson University. They will also be hosting a round table of young women who are Stetson alumnae, who will focus on being a female entrepreneur.

SEG meets every week; in addition to hosting monthly speakers at their meetings, they have dinner once a month at the faculty sponsors’ house to share food and ideas. Next semester, they will also be hosting a monthly mini-pitch to continue practicing and sharing ideas. The motto of the group is “Entrepreneurship is not a solo sport!”