Eight undergraduate student businesses were awarded $10,000 in a competition at the University of Iowa John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Startup Incubator Summer Track for best investor and elevator pitches.
On July 28, competitors gathered at MERGE in Iowa City to represent their businesses and pitch their services and products to Mandela Washington Fellows, judges of the competition and the flagship program of the U.S. government’s Young African Leaders Initiative. The competition was the final day of the Fellowship’s six week program in Iowa City.
Andrew Herkelman of Passive Picks and Josh Cohen of Seat Stock were first-place winners, with Mr. Herkelman awarded $3,000 for the Investor Pitch competition and Mr. Cohen awarded $1,500 for the Elevator Pitch competition.
Passive Picks is a sports handicapping company that finds discrepancies in odds set by the oddsmakers and then sends picks to clients to bet on with their own money, and Seat Stock is a marketplace to buy and sell student tickets quickly and safely.
Other winners included:
Investor Pitch
- Second place, Jordan Walters of WALT: $2,000
- Third place, Tristen Smith of Big Ass Rugs: $1,000
- People’s Choice, JJ Wickman of Trading Post: $500
Elevator Pitch
- Second place, Simon Glazer of Wellness Wear: $1,000
- Third place, Tessa Petersen of Blue Heron: $500
- People’s Choice, Benjamin Harks of Aurora Sleepwatch: $500
Iowa JPEC is the hub for entrepreneurship education and outreach at the University of Iowa.
