By: Lexie Newhouse
April 26, 2019 | With finals being the only thing separating students from summer, it should be no surprise that excitement was high at the Spring 2019 H.J. Russell Center for Entrepreneurship (HJRCE) Business Model Competition. Seven qualifying students from ENI 3101 pitched their business ideas as the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovators.
This semester’s competition was evaluated by four accomplished judges: Luis Ferrer of BitCraft and Observe, Agatha Achindu of Yummy Spoonfuls, Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brewing Company and the Moving Haiti Forward Initiative and Matt Bramblett of Endeavor Advisors LLC and instructor at the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute.
Travelin’ Music Lessons opened the evening with their in-home music lessons business concept. Through visiting clients in the comfort of their own home, they are providing both an accessible and affordable solution to parents seeking quality music lessons for their children.
Nutrifo pitched their affordable, healthy grain bowl and smoothie vending machine idea for the on-the-go lifestyle. As college students themselves, they plan to target students across college campuses that seek nutritious snacking options in between classes.
Whether lounging at home or soaking in sun at the beach, Tall Order has the solution to your specialty beverage problems. Their crystalized real fruit mixer is an all-natural, vegan-certified, individually packaged powder cocktail mixers that takes the hassle out of mixing and measuring those popular mixologist-designed cocktails.
With growing concerns over copyright issues, No Vocal is creating an easy, simple and safe alternative for YouTubers. Through the No Vocal platform, YouTube content creators will now have access to a centralized location to search and purchase copywritten instrumentals.
Continuing with the music-centric pitches, Right Brain followed with their app that accurately and immediately transposes music for different instruments.
Troubles with budgeting your travel? Don’tTRP pitched their solution: an app that helps users with everything you need to travel without the drama.
To close out the competition, V Air presented their business idea, a device enhancing the virtual reality (VR) gaming experience by integrating an air fan for a more realistic experience within the virtual environment.
After much the deliberation, the judges finally reached a consensus on who should be crowned the Spring 2019 HJRCE Business Model Competition champions. No Vocal placed first with the $1,500 grand prize, V Air took home the second place $1,000 prize plus the “Flying Pigs” Innovation Award and Travelin’ Music Lessons was honored with the $500 Hustle Award.
Congratulations again to all the students that competed in the Spring 2019 competition! Interested in competing next fall? Be sure to register for ENI 3101!
Special thank you to our judges for volunteering their time and for the Russell Center for continuing to support student entrepreneurs.