2013 Business Pitch Competition

2013 Business Pitch Competition

April 22, 2013
Students present their ventures in hopes of receiving funding in annual competition

With an award of $3,500 and the opportunity to present in front of angel investors at stake, the Robins School’s Business Pitch Competition can make a significant difference for student ventures. Twenty-eight teams pitched ideas for new businesses to a panel of faculty and local business leaders in round one where six were chosen to advance to the final round on April 15.

Students, faculty, staff and members of the community attended the final round to support the six contestants who presented ideas at various stages of development; some had launch and implementation dates while others had mockups and prototypes. In front of a panel of seven judges composed of area business leaders, each team pitched their idea in hopes of winning one of three prizes and the opportunity to continue advancing their venture.

“The judges were local entrepreneurs and investors chosen for their knowledge of turning good ideas into successful businesses,” said Dr. Pollack, assistant professor of management, who coordinates this event. “They all look for big problems to solve and elegant, efficient solutions that can grow large-scale as well.”

After measuring each pitch for concept, clarity, comprehensiveness, realistic implementation and potential value, the judges awarded Nicole Bredeson, ’14, founder of Cookies, Then Milk!, the winner. Second place and $1,000 went to David Murphy, ‘13, founder of Tight Light, and third place and $500 went to Boris Fedoroff and Michael Rodgers, 14, founders of ForPlayers.

Cookies, Then Milk! is a handcrafted, homemade lactation support food which encourages breastfeeding and good health. Bredeson currently uses a small commercial kitchen to create each premade cookie and cookie mix, which consumers can then purchase from her online store or select retail locations in Florida, California and Canada. She takes pride in the fact that Cookies, Then Milk! is currently the only lactation support food product on the market which can be customized for dietary restrictions at a lower price point. In the coming months, Bredeson plans to attend a baby shower and expo hosted by Dr. Oz, where she will speak with lactation consultants and doctors to better develop her products, seek out larger production options and continue empowering mothers to breastfeed.    

Second place winner David Murphy developed Tight Light after recognizing a need for a way to store cigarette lighters in convenient locations where they are used most often. He currently has a provisional patent for the product and has pitched Tight Light to Marlboro in hopes of partnering with the organization. Murphy has also visited BIC’s headquarters and is currently working with Worth Products Group to conduct market research. He hopes to soon see Tight Light on convenience store counters for consumers to purchase.

Boris Fedoroff and Michael Rodgers were awarded third place for his venture ForPlayers, an online gaming tournament facilitator. They said the idea was developed to create value for skilled players who enter tournaments for a fee and then are awarded a monetary prize upon conclusion depending on their skill. ForPlayers will be beta tested in June and later implemented in South Korea, the gaming capital of the world. Fedoroff believes South Korea is the ideal target for his venture where online games are played by 35% of the population in internet cafes and homes throughout the day.

The other three contestants who did not place were Sergio Angeles and Frederic Anderson of uBrew; Esteban Hernandez of I Fix It Fast; and Tyler Tillage, Sergio Angeles and Owen Hutchinson of Livefeedr. The night was a great example of University of Richmond students showcasing their entrepreneurial spirit and pursuing their goals with new and innovative ideas.