Are you a fan of American Idol and Shark Tank? Then you would have loved the New Idea Pitch Competition held the evening of Thursday, February 27th. The competition, which was open to all LMU students across campus, attracted numerous submissions this year which made is challenging for the entrepreneurship staff to narrow the competition down to the top 12 ideas. The students selected to compete were given 90 seconds to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges and a student-filled audience for cash prizes and a coveted spot in the LMU Business Incubator.
The results were as follows:
- First place ($700) – Julian Bahmani, Siphr
- Second place ($500) – Jennifer Evans, Panga Panga
- Third place ($300) – Anna Diaz, Datadog
- Fourth place ($200) – Nolan Simons, Ecorinse
- Fifth place ($100) – Neiv Schwartz and Evan Modiste, Feedback Loop
- Loudest Cheer ($100) – Tied between Jennifer Evans, Panga Panga and Julian Bahmani, Siphr
- Most Entertaining ($100) – Michael Meissner, Poo Be Gone
- Best Overall ($100) – Julian Bahmani, Siphr
Senior entrepreneurship major Julian Bahmani won first place with Siphr, an online storage tool similar to dropbox but with additional features. MBA student Jennifer Evans took home second place with Panga Panga, an idea similar to airbnb but for hosting meals at home. Third place went to senior accounting and entrepreneurship double major Anna Diaz with Datadog, an online scoring system for competitions. Senior entrepreneurship major Nolan Simons came in fourth place with Ecorinse, a waterless car cleaning service. And finally, fifth place went to entrepreneurship seniors Neiv Schwartz and Evan Modiste with Feedback Loop, a prototyping service for entrepreneurs.
The audience got to join in on the fun by voting via text message for their favorites in the following categories: Loudest Cheer, Most Entertaining and Best Overall. At the end of the night, everyone was treated to pizza and had a chance to mingle with fellow students, faculty, staff and guests.
