Fulton County student entrepreneurs pitch ideas
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The Fulton Economic Development Corp. in Rochester on Monday announced the winners of its fourth annual First Pitch event. The competition featured five teams of students pitching their business ideas to win a total of $1,500 in cash prizes for further development.
The event featured two teams each from Caston High School in Rochester and Tippecanoe Valley High School in Akron, Indiana, as well as one team from Rochester Community High School.
FEDCO said the teams presented their business plans, including feasibility, target customers, costs and projected profitability to a panel of judges representing local businesses.
The $500 first place prize went to the Mag Pic team from Tippecanoe Valley. The students developed a magnetic plastic guitar pick designed to keep picks secured to their instrument when not in use.
Second place and its $400 prize went to Timber Targets, a mobile axe-throwing and archery outdoor entertainment company created by two students from Rochester High School. The team aims to make the mobile attraction available at festival events and private and business parties.
Third place and its $300 prize was awarded to Tippecanoe Valley’s Jim Bros team, an athletic apparel and accessories company. In addition to clothing geared toward athletes, the team demonstrated its Blender Bro, a blending bottle used for mixing gym supplements during workouts.
The fourth and fifth prizes, which awarded $200 and $100, respectively, were awarded to the teams from Caston: Wildcard Cafe, an American style family restaurant concept, and Curfew, a mobile app to allow students to find a safety escort to take them to their university campus destination.
A spokesperson for FEDCO said while there isn’t a specifically sponsored track for the students to follow in order to continue developing their businesses, they could take part in the organization’s BizGro Program, which provides a business planning and management course, low-interest loans and training grants.