SJC : College students Discover Entrepreneurship In Annual Enterprise Pitch Competitors

The entrepreneurial spirit was alive in this year’s Venture Pitch competition. Every year the college’s business management program hosts its annual business pitch competition, which is open to all students. With the college going through changes in operations due to COVID-19, the competition was held virtually but still had a record 12 teams participating.

The panel of experts consisted of business owners, nonprofit directors, faculties, and board members including Gary Bucek, Leon Burks, LaDarrell Hopkins, Courtney Taylor, and Dr. Christopher Wild. The moderators had 10 minutes to present their business idea and five minutes to answer questions from the jury.

“Our venture pitch competition gives students from all fields the opportunity to get creative and use their knowledge and experience to present their business ideas to local business professionals,” said Kevin Hale, professor of business administration at San Jacinto College. “For those who really want a career in entrepreneurship, the competition is an opportunity to learn what questions loan officers and investors are asking. They can then take this feedback and do further research or optimize their idea or service so that they can potentially get their business off the ground and fulfill their dream of entrepreneurship. “

The first winners of the 2021 Venture Pitch were students Michael Schoppa and Bryan Quezada, also known as The Cold Collar Ballers. Schoppa and Quezada have developed an affordable solution for an electronic device that integrates with the child seat and syncs with a keychain to warn parents if their child is accidentally left in the car. The team received a $ 700 scholarship.

Second place and a $ 500 scholarship went to Yadiel Rios, who created a unique solution for gamers. Often times, players need to get “off the keyboard” or exit AFK for a number of reasons, particularly when they require long queues in order to participate in massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. This often results in harsh penalties or the need to start waiting in the queues again. Rios has developed a prototype device that serves as a “key holder” for players to place on their keyboard when they need AFK.

Third place for a $ 300 scholarship went to Aiden Nguyen, who developed an automated tennis score keeper. Using an app that was synchronized with the device, Nguyen demonstrated how portable and easy to use his Score Keeper is to easily keep track of the score on any tennis court.

The winning teams created stunning presentations using cost analysis, competitive research, and marketing ideas to showcase their ideas and how their ideas turn into solutions for a range of consumer needs.

For more information on the San Jacinto College business administration program, visit sanjac.edu/program/business-management.

This press release was produced by San Jacinto College. The views expressed here are your own.