Georgetown McDonough Entrepreneurs Win Big in Inaugural Pitch Contest
Last month, Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business held its inaugural Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize “Bark Tank” Pitch Competition, named in honor of the school’s mascot, the bulldog. Put together by a team of expert entrepreneurs at the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative, the goal of the competition was to support students and alumni in their startup ventures. Overall, nearly a dozen teams and individuals competed for $100,000 in prize money.
In alignment with Georgetown’s Jesuit values, the pitch competition highlighted business ventures that focused on problems in the world around them. Ultimately, the prize money was intended to bring awareness to innovative technology and business ideas that address a social issue by doing good.
“It is wonderful to watch the community rally around ‘StartupNation,’” Ted Leonsis—the founder, majority owner, chairman, and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment—said in a press release from the university. “It has been tremendous to watch these entrepreneurs exhibit passion to tackle these issues. Entrepreneurship allows Georgetown University to stand atop of what they are already doing, which is to develop the whole person. We have the opportunity to become an institution where people not only get an education but also have a higher calling.”
The ultimate winner of the “Bark Tank” pitch competition was Hatch, a startup launching soon in Washington DC, that seeks to provide co-working and child care solutions for working parents. Founded by J.P. Coakley (MBA ’18) and Kelsey Lents (MBA ’18), Hatch won $30,000 at the competition, which will enable it to open its first location.
The Leonsis Prize underscores the student experience at Georgetown University in how the student, faculty, and alumni communities continuously help each other through scholarship, mentorship, and networking,” said Lents. “This support has impressed and motivated us to launch our business. We are excited to have won the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize, which will be instrumental in helping us to secure the lease and letter of credit required to open the first location of Hatch.”
Other prize recipients included ClassPulse, a professional development tool that allows professors to collect student feedback in real time. Founded by Claudia Recchi (B ’17), ClassPulse won $25,000. The third-place prize went to Cusp 365, an app that helps college women live a more healthy life. Founded by Jaclyn DiGregorio (B ’17), it received $15,000. Another five ventures, Campus Sherpa, Edible Finance, Foublie, Galapagos Strategy, and Qoral Health, each won $5,000 in prize money.
Overall, the winners were chosen based on scores by a panel of judges including CEOs, founders, and chairmen from leading companies in the area.
To learn more, visit the website or watch the video from the contest below.
This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.
Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative Names Leonsis Prize Finalists
Georgetown’s top student entrepreneurs are ready to show their stuff and win the cherished Leonsis Prize. The Georgetown Entrepreneurship Initiative at the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business recently announced the 2018 finalists for the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize.
Finalists will compete at the inaugural Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize “Bark Tank” pitch competition event, according to the school. The Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize is supported by—you guessed it—the Leonis family.
Meet the Leonisis’
Ted Leonsis is a longtime entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates three professional sports teams: the NBA’s Washington Wizards, NHL’s Washington Capitals and WNBA’s Washington Mystics. Ted’s son, Zach (MBA ’15) is the senior vice president of strategic initiatives of Monumental Sports & Entertainment and general manager of Monumental Sports Network. Ted’s wife, Lynn, and daughter, Elle, the digital marketing director of SnagFilms, Inc., are also involved in the program
Meet the Finalists
Competing teams are made of current Georgetown undergraduate and graduate students, as well as alumni who within six months of graduation. Finalists were selected following a rigorous nomination, application, and review process. They compete for a slice of a $100,000 prize during the Bark Tank pitch competition, where each team share their ventures with a panel of judges, and the McDonough community.
Some of the ventures where founded by McDonough MBAs. Those finalists include:
- Edible Finance: Sunny Gupta (MBA’19) and Chris Johnson (MBA’19). Edible Finance is an Instagram-like stories platform for investments. It provides bite-sized investment tidbits via stories and videos that drive revenue generating investment actions.
- Foublie: Melissa Antal (MBA’19). Foublie is an on-demand service that connects parents with questions about nutrition, food and feeding to specialists and catered resources.
- Galapagos Strategies: Ramya Possett (MBA’17). Galapagos Strategies disrupts the IP model with upfront market analyses, innovative consulting workshops, and the creation of strategic IP that generates value.
- Hatch: JP Coakley (MBA’18) and Kelsey Lents (MBA’18). Hatch is a flexible coworking and licensed child care solution for parents in the gig economy that aligns professional and parental needs.
Visit the Georgetown McDonough website to read about the rest of the finalists. You can learn more about the Leonsis Family Entrepreneurship Prize here.
McDonough To Host Georgetown Entrepreneurship Day
From Friday, Sept. 19 through Sunday, Sept. 21, the McDonough School of Business and The Georgetown University Entrepreneurship Initiative will host Georgetown Entrepreneurship Day. The three day event will feature an array of entrepreneurship events that will provide opportunities for students, faculty and business leaders to network and collaborate. Continue reading…
