Eastern Washington University hosted its first Eagles’ Nest Business Pitch Competition finale on May 18. The idea behind the final round of competition came from the hit television show “Shark Tank” and featured six successful local business people – mostly EWU alumni – choosing the winner of the competition.
“This will become an annual tradition at EWU,” Bruce Teague, the director of EWU’s Center for Entrepreneurship said. “We already have the funds for the next couple years. I simply want to motivate EWU students to develop business ideas.”
Competition was open to every student attending Eastern Washington, whether students are a business major or not.
The first prize of $2,500 cash was given to Victoria Simboli, who developed a company devoted to protecting Internet users from the potential dangers associated with using public WiFi.
The second prize was a cash award of $1,000 and it was given to Christine Burns and Jessica Walker for their “MissApp Case,” which was an innovative phone case designed to increase personal safety when users find themselves in situations where they feel threatened.
Third prize was awarded to Bobby Johnson and Tu Nguyen for their app, “BikeNGo,” an app to bring bicycling into the shared economy. The team won $500 in cash.
There was also another prize that was chosen by the crowd attending the event. To vote, the audience used the app “PollEverywhere” which allowed them to vote for their favorite sales pitch in real time. The prize money of $500 also went to Johnson and Nguyen for their app.
Seven finalists presented a sales pitch and every participant was awarded at least $250.
There were a total of 35 business pitches altogether from the three rounds of the competition. The first qualifying round took place on Nov. 15 and the second was on March 14.
Another aspect to the competition was “shout-out” ads that took place in between sales pitches. The JFK Library won the competition by winning the audience’s votes from the PollEverywhere app.
Herbet B. Jones Foundation and Consolidated Electrical Distributors, Inc. were the two major sponsors of the event, providing the prize money for the students.
“My goal for this competition is I want students to know that if they have an idea, they can start a business,” Teague added. “Ideas from businesses come from everywhere.”
The event already has Nov. 7 set as the date for the first qualifying round for next year’s competition.
Grace Pohl can be reached at grace@cheneyfreepress.com.
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