Igniting business ideas

University of Missouri students in engineering, business, journalism, social work, economics and art competed Nov. 8 for a spot in the University of Missouri’s Entrepreneur Quest (EQ) program and a chance to win funds from a $30,000 prize pool this spring thanks to sponsor Veterans United Home Loans.

“EQ is meant to transform student ideas into viable startups ready for investor seed funding,” said Greg Bier, MU executive director of entrepreneurship programs. “Their ideas will evolve over the course of our eight-week program, which includes workshops, research, networking and coaching from mentors during the spring semester.”

Undergraduate and graduate students applied to participate in EQ this fall. A group of community leaders and faculty evaluated the applications and narrowed the field to 15 teams. Those teams pitched their venture ideas in front of a different panel of judges, all successful entrepreneurs in their own right. Ten finalists with the most promising ideas were chosen, and the audience favorite won $1,500 provided by Hawthorne Bank.

Among the finalists is Blake Brown, a marketing major from River Forest, Illinois. His company, BTB Kicks, restores and personalizes expensive sneakers, a multibillion-dollar industry.

“I take beat-up, dirty and distressed sneakers and bring them back to life,” Brown said. “I’ve been doing this for about five years now, and I’ve put in the time, the work and the research to perfect my craft.”

Pitch competition attendees chose Partner for Better, a service for nonprofits and small, social-good businesses, as the audience favorite. Founded by Kasey Hammock, a doctoral student in social work from Camdenton, the company helps organizations attract funding, evaluate outcomes and tell their stories more effectively.

“We help organizations do more good,” Hammock said. “In the first six months alone, using only word of mouth, we’ve served over 40 organizations and helped them secure over $1 million in funding.”

In January, finalists will start the intensive EQ education program, which culminates in a March 21 pitch competition for funding: $15,000 for first place, $10,000 for second place and $5,000 for third place.

Other students in the top ten:

• Joseph Galant III, an economics major from Tinley Park, Illinois, is creating an app for sports bettors called Bet-T.
• Ako Hamaamin, a marketing major from Kansas City, and Noah Strodtman, a business management major from Columbia, are designing Solutoy, a machine that fully automates the silverware rolling process for restaurants.      
• Makayla Jones, a business administration major from St. Louis, founded natural and eco-conscious Maka Co. Botanical Skincare.
• Macy Roper, a strategic communication major from Dexter, is developing the Taylor Farms Wedding and Event Venue in Southeast Missouri.
• Mason Schaedel, a finance major from Lake Zurich, Illinois, and Hallie Wilt, a graphic design major from Macon, are building Aged Ivy, a sustainable vintage clothing brand.          
• Jacob Smith, a mechanical engineering major from Columbia, is interested in offering affordable manufacturing of custom plastic and metal parts through his company Cumulus.
• Chetan Vanteddu, a computer science major from Cape Girardeau, is working on Careline, a standardized method to view and transfer medical records between providers.
• Kevin Zemon, a computer science major from Columbia, founded Genius Gentlemen Gaming to produce accessible, real-time computer games that promote strategy and teamwork.

Judges for the November pitch competition were Jeremyah Grigery, owner of Nostalgiaville USA and director of digital marketing at Veterans United; Jaresha Campbell, owner of Cake-A-Boo Bakery and Veterans United associate director; Amanda Quick, founder of The Hatchery, a coworking space for local entrepreneurs; Rob Jones, MU Extension’s director of strategic communication and marketing and founding director of the Missouri Education Business Incubator; and Foster Honeck, chief operating officer at Troutwine Ventures.