Three innovators earned investment capita in eight minutes at Purdue University Northwest's Big Sell pitch competition May 3.
Nabeel Rabie earned first place and $10,000 in seed funding for their pitch, Scent Seal. The concept involves an applicator intended to prevent perfume and body spray fragrances from quickly fading.
Allyson Straka earned second place and $3,000 for Frozen Garden. The company sources mostly locally grown fruits and vegetables from area farmers, then processes and freezes the produce in pouches for smoothies.
Paul Walczak received third place and $1,000 for Yuda, an invoicing and billing app for small service providers, such as landscapers and caterers, to share invoices directly from cell phones.
“The PNW Big Sell is consistently a unique opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to share their startup ideas while collaborating with students with PNW College of Business students to refine their concepts,” said Alexandra Moran, assistant professor of practice in management, in a press release. “We appreciate both the generous sponsorships and the enthusiasm from all involved to produce this year’s showcase of innovation and support the presenters’ business goals.”
Nine finalists presented their pitches to a panel of three judges inside Purdue Northwest’s Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center building. The judges were: Faith Spencer, CEO of Iron Works Corp.; Shaunte Robinson, executive director at JP Morgan; and James Kornas, executive vice president at Ozinga Rail.
Other finalists include:
- Alexis Karahalios – Septo
- Felipe Trejo – Easily repairable and customizable wireless gaming mouse
- Dhara Patel – Shield
- Orion Traulle – Jamhouse LLC
- Ashton Verbish – SafetyGlow
- Donna Webster – Breath’g Vegan LLC
- Caiden Carlson – FEAST
- Max Beller – Max Bar
Previous winners were not eligible to compete.
The 14th annual Big Sell was hosted by Purdue University Northwest College of Business and Office of Commercialization and Research.
