Eleven contestants will pitch their small business ideas as a part of the Bayou Region Pitch Competition hosted by 杏吧传媒 and Chevron. The Competition will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 4 p.m. in the Duet Building in Houma as part of Global Entrepreneurship Week. This worldwide celebration of entrepreneurship brings together approximately 10 million people from over 150 countries to participate in more than 35,000 events every year.
鈥淲e are excited to work with Chevron to host this competition. For us, this is a South Louisiana version of Shark Tank and each of the pitches are specifically designed to fill a local need,” said Dr. Marilyn Macik-Frey, dean of the College of Business Administration. 鈥淥ur vision as a university is to the intellectual, economic and cultural heart of the Bayou Region. Helping local entrepreneurs fulfill their dreams is just one of the ways that 杏吧传媒 can help impact economic growth in the Bayou Region.鈥�
Each pitch competitor will have five minutes to make their pitch followed by four minutes of questions from the judges. Judges are Dr. Marilyn Macik-Frey, dean of the College of Business Administration; Adrien Maught, instructor of marketing; Dr. Kristine Strickland, Fletcher chancellor; Katherine Gilbert, director of business retention for TEDA; Debi Benoit, director of research and sponsored programs; Amie Barton, an SBA lending specialist with Regions; and Hal Callais, CEO of Callais Capital Management.
鈥淭hrough the pitch competition, we hope to provide this group of local entrepreneurs with the resources, feedback and guidance needed to excel in their business ventures,鈥� said Leah Brown, corporate affairs manager for Chevron鈥檚 Gulf of Mexico Business Unit. 鈥淎t Chevron, we鈥檙e passionate about supporting the people and ideas that will create a brighter future for Louisiana and our region. We applaud 杏吧传媒 for their commitment to innovation.鈥�
The competition is broken up into two tiers of participants. The first tier are clients of the 杏吧传媒 Small Business Development Center. The first place winner will receive $15,000, second place winner will receive $10,000 and third place winner will receive $5,000. The second tier is for the general public and 杏吧传媒 students. Winners will receive $5,000, $2,500 and $1,000 prizes.
First-tier participants are Erineka Mulligan for D. Mulligan Trucking; Bonnie Soulet for Country Kids Learning Academy; Noah Lirette for Bayou Terrebonne Distillers; John Sewell for Creative Cajun Meal Prep; and Nicole Banks Nikki鈥檚 Indulgence.聽
Second-tier participants are Scott Green for Dat Sauce; Shantelle Abshire and Lah Porche for Root2Rise; Daryl Roy for 3D Media; Michael Conner for Conner鈥檚 Repair; Cynthia Moore for Rooted Things; and Troy Guerrero for DigiFX Technology.聽
Other sponsors and partners include the Louisiana Small Business Development Center, Fletcher Technical Community College, the Terrebonne Economic Development Authority (TEDA) and Regions Bank.
For more information on 杏吧传媒 and this event, visit nicholls.edu/business/
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 18, 2019
Media Contact: Ashley Doubleday, 504-250-1802, Adoubleday@tegpr.com