Sixteen teams competing in annual E+I Elevator Pitch

Grove City College students will put their ideas for commercial and social enterprises to the investor test at the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation’s 17th annual Elevator Pitch Competition finals at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 15 in Sticht Lecture Hall of the Staley Hall of Arts and Letters on campus.

The Elevator Pitch Competition (EPC) provides student entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch their ideas to judges in a two-stage contest. Each student has two minutes – about the time it takes to ride in an elevator with a deep-pocketed investor – to convince the judges that their ideas have merit and potential.

“The Elevator Pitch Competition finals is an amazing culmination of much hard work from these student finalists. I am so excited to hear their pitches and see who rises to the top. Conveying your business idea in two minutes is a difficult task, but one that prepares students for their future and exercises their public speaking skills. The Center for E+I is pleased to present this year's finals, and I hope everyone will consider joining us in person or via livestream to see the results," said Logan Hammerschmitt '16, Campus Director for the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation.

The event is free and open to the public. It will be livestreamed at gccentrepreneurship.com/elevator-pitch and online viewers can join in the judging. Sponsors include NexTier Bank + Mars Bank and the Grove City Foundation, an affiliate of the Community Foundation of Western Pennsylvania and Eastern Ohio.

This year’s competition takes place during Global Entrepreneurship Week. 

One hundred and thirty-two students from 27 different majors registered for the EPC and submitted video pitches for commercial and social enterprises that were evaluated by a team of 63 reviewers in the preliminary round.

Sixteen finalists were selected for the final round in two divisions:

COMMERCIAL ENTERPRISE

• Coffee Basics – Grace Serritella ’27 (English); a disposable filter that fits into a travel mug and reduces the acidity of coffee.
• Have to Go – Kenzie Mawhinney ’26 (Marketing); an app that helps combat the long lines at crowded public events.
• Cleat Caddy – Ross Morrow ’27 (Design & Innovation); a game-changing product for athletes that simplifies cleat care and transport.
• Scan Guard – Julia Kammetler ’25 (Communication Arts); a wristband for healthcare workers that tracks hand sanitization and provides emergency alerts and health-tracking features.
• Inc and Influence Inc – Charles Vahlberg ’27 (Design & Innovation); a sales company passionate about making sales personal to your clients and partners with hand-written personalized letters.
• ShipPic – Ellie Gardner ’27 (Entrepreneurship); a product photography service accessible to all beginner entrepreneurs, offering a variety of content types enhanced with AI technology.
• Airharness – Alex Christman ’27 (Political Science); a lightweight drum harness for an easier drumming experience.
• StudentSync – Sam Hogue ’25 (BARS); an app that allows entrepreneurial college students to connect with potential student buyers on campus.
• StickSaver – Alyssa Good ’25 (Marketing); an engineered allergy stick to assist those with food allergies.
• ReelCharge – Jacob Peters ’26 (Management & Marketing); a phone charger that reels in the cord.

SOCIAL ENTERPRISE:

• Allari – Greta Paulding ’27 (Marketing); an app that encourages community improvements and gives the public a chance to visualize and share their beautification ideas and designs using augmented reality.
• The Tapestry – Emma Ruby Whiteford ’24 (English), an app that offers additional resources for premarital counseling and for sustaining marriages and families.
• Hygiene Hive – Reagan Mays ’27 (Entrepreneurship); a room in schools that provides access to free hygiene products for kids in need.
• Little Life Stories – Alex Anderson ’26 (Entrepreneurship); a platform for telling stories that celebrate the value of life.
• Grassroots Greenbacks – Garrett Gess ’27 (Business Economics); a fundraising platform to assist middle-class candidates in running for political office.
• Restore the Word – Jenna Knepper ’25 (Design & Innovation); a prison ministry that works with prisoners to restore old Bibles that are given to prisoners free of charge.

Three judges will hear the pitches: Retired faculty member and social entrepreneur Tim Mech; E+I Program Manager Lynn Bashew ’84; and Craig Columbus, CEO of Columbus Macro, LLC. Pitches will be evaluated in such areas as need, clarity, achievability, sustainability, and growth.

Dorene Powell, vice president of the Grove City Foundation, will determine which enterprise wins the Social Impact Prize. The Fan Favorite award will be determined by a vote of the audience, both in person and online.

The EPC is open to students from all majors and ideas may be at any stage of development, from creation of concepts or ideas to an established venture. The goal is to teach students to communicate effectively and allow their charisma and positive characteristics to shine through in just a short pitch. The competition demonstrates the networking and presentation skills essential to any entrepreneur or business professional.

For more about The Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation, visit gccentrepreneurship.com.

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