Hoping to win $1,000, five Binghamton University students put their ideas to the test in the entrepreneurial department’s inaugural “Idea Pitch” competition.
On Monday evening in the Innovative Technologies Complex, five students presented their ideas to a panel of local professionals and entrepreneurs. The winner of the competition was Scott Benson, an undeclared sophomore, for his app Study Clash. He received a $1,000 grant from the department’s budget along with the chance to pitch his idea for a larger prize in the annual “Shark Tank” business-proposal event in the spring.
Fifteen students submitted an application for the grant, and five finalists were chosen to pitch their plans in front of the judges. Members of judging panel included Suzanne McLeod, the superintendent of Union-Endicott Central Schools; Darren MacDonald, the executive director of Southern Tier Capital Fund; and Rajib Akhter, a Binghamton businessman.
The ventures pitched included a website offering a list of activities to do outside of campus, a modified Segway to better serve disabled people and a series of scripting websites that simplify complicated tasks such as filing for bankruptcy.
Benson and his team have begun work on Study Clash, which allows students to take their notes and turn them into a quiz game. He said the idea struck him while he procrastinated studying for psychology by playing on the app Trivia Crack. The team is comprised of his brother, marketing specialists and two BU engineers.
“I realized that instead of useless trivia, it could test me on what I was studying,” Benson said. “You take that addictive nature of a trivia game and you bring in the educational benefit so I can really picture kids not dreading studying.”
Benson said that he plans on using the money he won to advance the servers of the app as well as pay for legal fees for copywriting the app. He said he wants to debut the app by November, in time for students to study for finals.
Katie Garrison, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, pitched an idea for a website highlighting community events titled “Katie’s List.” Although she didn’t win, Garrison said that in pitching she learned a valuable skill that prepared her for future business pitches.
“I’m glad I could experience what it’s like to pitch an idea to people who have money at stake,” Garrison said. “It’s cool to see if they’d believe in my idea or not.”
Panelist Darren MacDonald said he judged ideas based on their sustainability.
“I wanted to see ideas that I could envision being completed on the time frame that was being presented and I also wanted to see what had growth potential,” MacDonald said. “I felt like the winner was already well on his way to progressing with actually developing it so I felt like they could actually meet their timeline.”
Ken McLeod, the entrepreneur-in-residence at BU and a professor of biomedical engineering and entrepreneurship, said that the overall goal of the event was to inspire students who are not aware of the entrepreneurial funding available to them.
“They might look at this and think, ‘I have a better idea than that,’” McLeod said. “Now almost everybody gets a college degree so it’s not a unique thing anymore so entrepreneurial thinking is an important skill and being a leader can prepare students for the real world.”