NATCHITOCHES – Hailey Bolton, a senior business administration major from Deville, was the winner of the 2019 Inferno Pitch, a business plan competition the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program.
Bolton’s project is the Pet Trackr-Product, an application that increases the likelihood of pet owners being reunited with their lost pets. With the first place finish, Bolton won $3,000, a scholarship to Louisiana Startup Prize and a scholarship to the Patent Academy and six months of professional services from the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program.
Jaccorian Davis, a senior Computer Information Systems major from Natchez, who won second place for his pitch of a Genie Mirror-Revamps mirror to stay connected with a glance. Second place includes a $1,000, a scholarship to the Patent Academy and six months of professional services from the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program.
Kenny Do and Camryn Davis, were third place winners with D&D Electronic Accessories, which provides safe transportation of PCs. Third place prize is $500, a scholarship to the Patent Academy and six months of professional services from the Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program.
The Inferno Pitch was hosted by NSU’s College of Business and Technology and is intended to provide students with practical experience in entrepreneurship and increase innovation commercialization in the region. Students did extensive research, submitted business models, attend business development workshops and pitched their concept to a panel of judges in front of an audience.
“The concept is that of a mini “Shark Tank,” with a model designed for students to present an idea and pitch it to a group of investors and get prize money for first, second or third prize,” said Dr. Margaret Kilcoyne, College dean. “Students who win get cash and the opportunity to work with a patent attorney, marketing specialists and others.”
Top 5 finishers also included Lauren Seawood, a senior business administration major from Natchez for Perfect Pitch, an application that would allow musicians to learn the Nashville Number System to quickly understand music by ear; and Charlie Milton, a senior business administration major from Sunset who pitched Phun Times Entertainment Center, an application that provides a platform for nostalgic games to be introduced to the next generation for loads of family fun.
Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program (EAP), a division Biomedical Research Foundation (BRF). BRF, is a public/private partnership between BRF, the Caddo Parish Commission and the City of Shreveport to diversify the regional economy, create jobs and expand the area’s tax base by providing services to innovative startups that have high growth potential. Since EAP began in July 2014, the program has screened more than 690 startups and provided services to more than 220 companies.
Information on EAP is available at http://eapla.com/team/. Information on NSU’s School of Business is available at business.nsula.edu.
