Ventureprise Announces Virtual Student Showcase
Charlotte Venture Challenge Student Showcase
Student entrepreneurs to pitch their innovative projects and ideas for a chance to win cash and a spot in summer accelerator
On April 29th, UNC Charlotte student teams will pitch in a virtual showcase for an opportunity to participate in a summer mentorship program and win cash prizes. Ventureprise, UNC Charlotte’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center, will host students from College of Computing and Informatics, Belk College of Business, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, William States Lee College of Engineering and Cato College of Education, as they pitch to a panel of judges. “These are students who have worked all year on their projects and we want to give them an opportunity to showcase their innovations and receive feedback from community entrepreneurial leaders. We are excited to welcome Chris Elmore, Meggie Williams and Miguel Avila as our judges for the event. We feel our students will learn a lot from these entrepreneurs,” comments Laura Smailes, Ventureprise Assistant Director. “This is a very diverse group of student entrepreneurs who are dedicated to making an impact and exploring their ideas. They have worked very well together, challenging each other along the way and we look forward to seeing what they showcase,” adds Smailes.
The feedback portion of the program on the 29th will be closed to the public, but each of the teams will post a pitch video on the Ventureprise YouTube page and the public will be able to watch, comment and ‘invest’ in the teams. Each person who signs up for the event will have $5,000 Ventureprise investment Bucks to support one team, or several. How the ‘bucks’ are spent is up to each voter. Voting will be open at noon Monday, April 27th and will close Wednesday, April 29th at 10am.
UNC Charlotte’s Research and Economic Development and Ventureprise will be awarding over $10,000 to selected teams on April 29th. Teams participating in the summer accelerator will be creating minimal viable products, interacting with customers and in some cases generating revenue. “The accelerator is an opportunity for the students to launch and grow their business ideas in an encouraging and supportive environment,” said Devin Collins, the Interim Executive Director of Ventureprise. The teams will meet with the judges virtually, where they will receive feedback from the panel on their video pitch and participate in a Q&A session. Five teams will be selected to participate in a summer program and receive $2000 in cash. “We will also be awarding a Crowd Favorite, $500, which will be the team that has received the most Ventureprise investment bucks- so sign up to vote and be a part of the program,” says Laura Smailes.
Supporting sponsors are Ventureprise, UNC Charlotte’s Research and Economic Development and North Carolina Biotechnology Center.
RSVP on Eventbrite to receive an email with the video links and instructions on how to use your Ventureprise Investment Bucks.
List of Participants:
Fidel Henriquez, Sophomore, College of Computing and Informatics
Tristin Fields, Senior, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Hunter Stanley, Senior, Belk College of Business
Robert Abbott, Graduate Student, College of Computing and Informatics
Neleesh Mungoli, Graduate Student, College of Computing and Informatics
Patrick Smith, Junior, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Adonis Abdullah, Junior, Belk College of Business
Daniel Johnson, Junior, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences
Sahithi Meduri, Junior, College of Computing and Informatics
Ivan Zaytsev, Sophomore, College of Computing and Informatics
Aditya Bhuijle, Sophomore, College of Computing and Informatics
Joshua Gibbons, Junior, William States Lee College of Engineering
Emmanuel Wallace, Junior, William States Lee College of Engineering
Jimmy Nyanwapolu, Graduate Student, William States Lee College of Engineering
Asong Asonganyi, Junior, Cato College of Education
Olalekan Ogundairo, Graduate Student, William States Lee College of Engineering
Akintonde Abbas, Graduate Student, William States Lee College of Engineering
To learn more about the 49er Foundry Members, https://entrepreneurship.charlotte.edu/students/49er-foundry
RSVP on Eventbrite to use your investment bucks to receive an email when the videos are posted.