By: Jackie Davis
The Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization Global Headquarters (CEO HQ) recently announced the top 100 competitors for its 2020 Virtual Global Pitch Competition! More than 300 qualified student entrepreneurs from 151 campuses applied for their chance at $15,000 in seed funding. CEO has selected a total of 110 ventures across 75 campuses to compete. Among the competitors, are four Georgia State student founders.
First, Daniel Hadgu, a senior majoring in Finance, is looking help the 3.5 million Ethiopians living in the United States today. His company, Ethiopay, is a global payment platform that specializes in bill pay from the United States to Ethiopia. Ethiopay allows senders in the United States to send funds directly to bill companies in Ethiopia. Hadgu explained, “Ethiopay’s main objectives are simple: we aim to provide convenient, secure, and fast services to both the receiver and the server.” Read more about Daniel’s company here on our blog.
Next is post-baccalaureate student Heather Patton. Her non-profit, TakeCare Oncology, is an accessible and affordable wellness and recovery center for cancer patients and survivors, and their caregivers. It functions as a critical part of the patient/survivor oncology care team by offering psychological treatment, nutrition and movement guidance, and a safe space for additional healing and community support and activities. View Pitch Video
Third is Robert Hatcher (‘17), who graduated with a Minor in Entrepreneurship and is a current MBA student. Hatcher founded, Aurign, a technology company that is providing security to music artists to keep them from losing $2.5B in unclaimed publishing royalties. Aurign allows music artists to record with each other around the world in real-time while using metadata to automate music publishing contracts. Aurign is the recent winner of the University of Arkansas Heartland Challenge Startup Competition.
Finally, freshman and Georgia State CEO Chapter President, Adenike Ayandeji, was selected for her clothing brand concept FM Athletics. The brand’s aims to be inclusive and comfortable, providing athletic wear to all shapes, sizes and at affordable prices for all. View Pitch Video
As part of the competition, student founders will virtually pitch their businesses and create a business profile on Peaqs, a virtual business market. Students will also gain access to investors, mentors, judges and advisors. The students will be competing for over $15,000 in prizes:
- First Place – $7,000
- Second Place – $5,000
- Third Place – $3,000
- People’s Choice Award – $600
VOTE NOW for the People’s Choice Award – the video with the most traction (likes, shares, and views) will be named the winner!