The PNW Big Sell pitch competition's top three winners received a total of $14,000 in investment capital for their businesses.
Ten teams pitched their ideas to a panel of four judges April 27 at PNW’s Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center.
“The PNW Big Sell pitch competition provides aspiring entrepreneurs from all walks of life to present their innovative ideas for potential commercialization,” said Niaz Latif, interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs and associate vice chancellor for commercialization and research, in a press release.
Jonathan Rose's pitch landed him the top prize of $10,000 for his pitch about ModMath, an application that helps students with dyslexia and dysgraphia complete math problems.
Emily Edwards' pitch for Paradise Spreads resulted in second place and $3,000. Her plant-based products are organic and gluten free. She also earned second place in the 2021 PNW Big Sell competition. And she has received help from the Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center to expand her line of products.
Danielle Cruz-Lopez earned third place and $1,000 to further develop Sepsis Slayers, which has a business plan of reducing sepsis-related deaths in health care settings.
“The PNW Big Sell serves as a valuable opportunity to support regional entrepreneurs and forward a university goal of fostering transformative innovation for our communities,” said Alexandra Moran, clinical instructor of entrepreneurship at PNW. “We appreciate the contestants’ ingenuity and look forward to continuing to support their business goals.”
Mont Handley, entrepreneur in residence and associate director of CMEC, and Moran directed the Big Sell. The panel of judges included Vincent Arcuri, professional casting director; John Fountain, professor of journalism at Roosevelt University; Max Moses, former business and nonprofit director; and Alex Wisniewski, co-founder and CEO of Cultivation Connect.
Caption: Danielle Cruz-Lopez received third place and $1,000 for Sepsis Slayers, a business that aims to reduce sepsis-related deaths within the medical field, during the April 27 PNW Big Sell pitch competition. (Provided by PNW)
