Christoff wins Business Idea Pitch
Denny Christoff Jr. (Mechanical Engineering and Business Administration) took first place in the Fall 2019 UW-Green Bay Student Business Idea Pitch Contest held on Monday, Oct. 14, 2019. Christoff’s idea… “Dennys-Overland buys Willys military Jeeps and civilian versions to get them in working order.” He walked away with a $500 cash prize.
There were 21 entries into the contest, and eight finalists were chosen to compete based upon the submission of a video in which the entrepreneurs gave their pitch. Second place went to Nick Blasczyk (Business Administration) for his idea of a nonprofit that develops places for all high school students, including those with disabilities, “Come Together” is the name of his nonprofit). Blasczyk was awarded $250 cash.
Third place went to Tyrone Powell (Business Administration) and Alex Marchese (Biology and Business Administration) for their business Unext which connects students to employers that offer job shadowing. The third place prize was $100.
In addition, a new award was given out, a people’s choice award by Digital Fertilizer. Digital Fertilizer presented the $100 cash award to Unext (Powell and Marchese).
The following finalists earned $50 cash:
- Nicole Shutt (Environmental Science) for her idea for an app to help field researchers with recording bird activity
- Marissa Dyess (Business Administration) for her idea “Lounge 4.0,” a mall-like space with tiered membership for college students to get help with homework such as tutoring and access to books
- Seng Raw (Business Administration) for her idea “Fit in Education,” a school in Burma for children who cannot afford an education.
- Mitchell Bell (Undeclared) for his idea “Med RD” to 3D print capsules for pharmaceuticals to increase patient compliance
The contest was sponsored by the Austin E. Cofrin School of Business, WiSys, Digital Fertilizer, and the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization student organization at UWGB.
Judges for the contest represented Titletown Tech, Schneider, Schreiber, Atuni Group, Digital Fertilizer, and Startup Hub and Urban Hub of the Greater Green Bay Chamber of Commerce.
