Overton Pitch Competition Offers Seed Money to Student Micro-Enterprises
Five teams made up of ECU student entrepreneurs received the opportunity to pitch their business concepts in front of a panel of judges during the Overton Pitch Competition on Monday, April 24. The pitch competition offered a chance for the teams to win seed funding for their ventures.
The teams that participated in the competition included:
- Disc Dawg – Gabriel Pierre and Mason Caroon
- Flourish Mind + Body – Jennifer George
- Fosterline Support – Katie Rowland, Nicole Cerezo Santana, and Cameron Britton
- InHouse Call – Grant Smith, Katherine Arden, and Ethan Hayes
- Outlaw Keyboards – Andrew Faldzinski
Fosterline Support took home the top prize. Fosterline Support is an app that aims to provide easier access to short term childcare for foster care parents. The app will allow childcare providers to document and download paperwork, show availability, display references and/or work history, and book childcare. For foster parents, the app will help them find short term childcare in the area, while also obtaining information about the environment they are sending their kid into. It is designed to provide a safe, compliant, and worry-free environment for foster parents.
The Overton Pitch Competition was created to provide start-up funding for students looking to launch their micro enterprises in eastern North Carolina. Students taking part in the competition qualified by participating in various programs and events that the university offers to support student-led business ventures.
Pitches were judged by an expert panel of ECU and community leaders. Concepts were judged based on the viability to carry out the business in eastern North Carolina and the potential for regional impact.
ECU’s Office of Research, Economic Development and Engagement along with the Miller School of Entrepreneurship, ECU College of Business, and RISE29 helped make the event happen.