2021 ‘BizPitch’ Student Business Contest Winners
May 12, 2021
Angelo State University’s Norris-Vincent College of Business and Small Business Development Center (SBDC) have announced the winners of the 2021 BizPitch student entrepreneurship competition following the recent live finals event in the LeGrand Alumni and Visitors Center.
The BizPitch competition began Jan. 27 when individual ASU students or teams of up to four students were invited to submit video pitches of their ideas for new business startups. A panel of ASU business faculty and SBDC specialists selected five finalists to make live pitch presentations to a panel of judges made up of local business professionals.
Winners of the 2021 BizPitch competition are:
First Place ($2,500 prize) & “Fan Favorite” ($250 prize) – Ram Lambs Day Care (pictured above)
Brooklyn Gallaway of Winters, marketing major
Kevin Sigala of Morse, management/marketing dual major
Business Synopsis: “Ram Lambs Day Care is a childcare facility that will allow students to attend their job or class without having to worry about the safety and care of their child.”
Second Place ($1,500 prize) – Angelo Hydro & Grow
John Mehosky of San Angelo, management major
Business Synopsis: “Angelo Hydro & Grow’s goal is to provide quality hydroponics at reasonable prices.”
Third Place ($1,000 prize) – The Pawn Shop
Landon Ward of San Angelo, graphic design major
Business Synopsis: “We are a trendy and family-friendly board game cafe bringing people together to enjoy connection around the tabletop.”
The finalists each made eight-minute live presentations to the judges and answered judges’ questions during the finals event. The cash prizes are for the winners to use as seed money for their new ventures. The other two finalists were:
Friendly Asian Next Door
Duc Truong Nguyen of Hanoi, Vietnam, marketing major
Business Synopsis: “Friendly Asian Next Door is a northern-style Vietnamese restaurant. Its goal is to encourage San Angelo locals to experience and enjoy healthy Asian food.”
Global Goodies
Taylor Avant of Dallas, international business major
Ana Hernandez Sanchez of Hidalgo, international business major
Business Synopsis: “We will create an online store, where we will sell goodies from 30 different countries. It will be for everyone, including families, travelers and the youth, because everyone loves snacks.”
The panel of business professionals who judged the finals included:
- Lisa Curry – Raw 1899 and Waterford Wellness Spa
- Ronnie Hawkins Jr. – ASU President and The Hawkins Group
- Ken Mayer – Lucky One Inc.
- Jordy Moorman – Workforce Technologies
- Scott Wisniewski – Western Shamrock and Ener-Tel
The BizPitch competition is designed to provide ASU students with opportunities to learn through interaction with SBDC business advisors and ASU alumni who are successful in business, as well as to promote and foster student entrepreneurship at ASU.