Student entrepreneurs will have the chance to compete for a share of $25,000 in startup capital Tuesday at this year’s Venture Challenge, organized by the LSU Student Incubator.
The business plan and pitch competition, now in its eighth year, features three finalists selected from a pool of 18 student teams who submitted business plans to the incubator. Competing in the event, which takes place at Tin Roof Brewery, are Trouble Circle, Freedom Fresh Farms and International Pumps & Parts. Each finalist gets 10 minutes to pitch their idea, followed by a 10-minute Q&A session.
Trouble Circle, a wearable safety device, won the 2018 Baton Rouge Startup Weekend. Freedom Fresh Farms is a veteran-owned organic certified farm producing for local grocery stores with plans to upscale. International Pumps & Parts, an e-commerce company, sells pumps and accessories.
Kenny Anderson, student incubator manager, says he and LSU Innovation Park Executive Director Charlie D’Agostino raise $25,000 each year from dedicated donors who want to see students succeed in their business ventures.
“That’s definitely one of the biggest challenges in trying to start a business while you’re in school … and so this is our way of combating students having to get a bank loan or having to raise money the traditional way,” Anderson says.
The judges then split up the prize money depending on how “investable” each company is in its pitch, he adds. The highest amount a finalist can receive is $15,000, and the lowest is $1,000.
The event, which will take place from 5-8 p.m., is free and open to the public. Food will be provided by the Rock Paper Taco food truck outside the brewery. Inside, there will be a cash bar.
The LSU Student Incubator, a program of the Louisiana Business and Technology Center at the LSU Innovation Park, launched the Venture Challenge in 2012 as a way to give students access to capital and retain university graduates.
