Josh Hamel of Hickory Hills presents in Elevator Pitch Competition at Lewis University

2015 May 13

Lewis University student Brittani Alston recently won the top prize for her idea of an organizational tool for students. The award was for the Lowell Stahl Center of Entrepreneurship and Real Estate Elevator Pitch and Poster Competition. There were 11 Lewis University students that pitched their business ideas and products at the contest.

The 2015 Elevator Pitch and Poster Competition required participants to submit their proposals beforehand and create a poster board with pre-made templates. At the competition, students then pitched their ideas to individual visitors before finally presenting in front of a panel of judges, consisting of two members from the Stahl Center Advisory Board and one Lewis University professor. The students competed for the first prize of an iPad Air 2, second prize of $300 and the Student Choice Award of a $100 gift card.

Hickory Hills resident Josh Hamel presented at the competition.

After first prize was awarded to Brittani Alston, the second prize and Student Choice Award was awarded to Adam Abbasi and Douglas Lee. All of the presenters and their pitches are as follows:

• "Authentic Car Parts and Tools" was the title of the presentation by Aron Nelson, a Criminal Justice major with a minor in Business Administration. The idea was to create an online website that sells parts and tools made through the company with quality material. The overall purpose being to make the purchase of car parts and tools easier and more affordable for consumers.
• Saradha Kannan presented "Cyber Security Consultancy for Women," an idea to open a consulting firm for globally certified and licensed women in the field of security. The firm would offer solutions to critical areas of threat detection and help the companies to achieve security compliance. The purpose of the firm would be to empower women in the field of cyber security.
• "Maintenance Mirrors," was created by John Gonzalez, an Aviation major with a minor in Business. He presented the idea of creating a maintenance application for repairs and logging of repair times. The application would be available for Android and Apple products with a cross step to computers.
• Abbasi and Lee, both Aviation Administration majors, presented "AeriaL." The business plan was to provide clients, such as insurance companies, real estate agencies and the general public with the ability to obtain aerial images in a more cost effective manner using unmanned systems as opposed to renting an aircraft or helicopter. The purpose of the product is to provide photography and video services using unmanned systems, or drones.
• "The H20 Project" was the title of the presentation by Jakob Gregorich, a Marketing major with a minor in International Business. His idea was to provide clean water to third-world countries through the use of a five gallon water bucket filtration system he called "The Life Bucket." The product would be bought by people in the United States for the use of families in third-world countries. The purchasers would receive a photo of the family they helped along with the benefit of knowing they made a difference in someone's life.
• Marzell Richardson, a Finance and Economics major, presented his business idea "Richardson Technology." The plan was to provide consumers with a way to harness natural producers of energy in their home, therefore making the home self-sufficient. Through environmentally and economically friendly methods, the overall goal of "Richardson Technology" is to provide technology that can reduce the cost of energy for the consumer.
• Alston, a Music Merchandising major, created "The Stylo Studio," an organizational tools company. Her plan was to provide organizational products like planners, project organizers and college advice booklets to college students to assist them with managing time and staying organized. The purpose of the organization would be providing succinct and trendy products that college students can use and integrate in their daily lives.
• "Simplex Technology" was the title of the presentation by Samuel Garcia, a Finance major. His plan was to provide consumers with day-to-day technological advancements that are affordable. The technology would have the ability to fundamentally change the way houses are built through the use of a small programmable chip. The products would help consumers complete everyday tasks quicker and with ease.
• "Flock Fitness" was the presentation by Josh Hamel, Finance and Economics major, and Anthony Kurt, Math and Secondary Education major. Their plan was to create an application called "Flock Fitness," where individuals can "flock" together and find someone to workout with. The purpose of the application would be to solve the problem of going to the gym alone by grouping similar people together for the common goal of fitness.
• Eric Schmitz, a Political Science major, discussed his business plan titled "Luscious Green Landscape." The idea was to create an all-inclusive landscape company that keeps lawns healthy and beautiful without the consumer having to do a thing. The company would fertilize, seed, weed and aerate, as well as mow and trim lawns all season long, so the consumer would have more free time to spend with friends and family.
• "Aquatic Lifescape Design" was the last presentation by Michael Hand, an Aviation Maintenance Management major. Hand's business plan was to provide professionally designed aquatic aquariums for personal and professional settings. The product would be eco-friendly and require only a single step purchasing option.

The Lowell Stahl Center for Entrepreneurship and Real Estate instills entrepreneurial thinking at Lewis University and creates a community of practitioners with a lifelong commitment to achieving social and economic progress through entrepreneurship.

Lewis University is a Catholic university in the Lasallian tradition offering distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 6,700 traditional and adult students. Lewis offers multiple campus locations, online degree programs, and a variety of formats that provide accessibility and convenience to a growing student population. Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis prepares intellectually engaged, ethically grounded, globally connected, and socially responsible graduates. The seventh largest private not-for-profit university in Illinois, Lewis has been nationally recognized by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. Visit www.lewisu.edu for further information.