Pitch and Poster competition awards students $10,000

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Media Contact: Bailey Stacy | Communications Coordinator, Marketing & Communications | 405-744-2700 | bailey.stacy@okstate.edu

Oklahoma State University students were awarded more than $10,000 in scholarships while competing in the 2022 Pitch and Poster competition hosted by the Riata Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on Nov. 4.

The Pitch and Poster competition at the Spears School of Business is open to all OSU students and allows them to receive feedback on new business ideas or products.

The competition included two rounds. In round one, each contestant made a 90-second pitch with a poster followed by a 90-second question-and-answer session with the judges. The top two teams in each category advanced to the final round, where they presented a three-minute pitch without a poster followed by a three-minute Q&A with the judges.

Alison Conway, Castoff’s Creatives, was the overall winner and won $2,000 in scholarships. The first-place winners in each of four categories were Jake Farrace, Mediums (Social Enterprise), Rafiu Ali, TutorSAAB (Main Street/Lifestyles), Saad Mohiuddin and Elisa Schulz da Casto Mazzo, DiagnoSports (Big City/High Tech).

“Our 2022 competition set new records for us since before the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Chad Mills, director for the Riata Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “We had 36 intent to competes and out of those 36, 31 prepared their elevator pitches and accompanying posters, then delivered some of the best presentations our judges have seen to date. 2022 was definitely the year for ‘A games’ across the board!”

Category winners and venture name:

Social Enterprise

First: Jake Farrace, Mediums ($1,000 scholarship)

Second: Alicia Young and Viswanath Nukala, Pherolize ($700 scholarship)

Third: Dania Crivelli, Piensa Consulting ($300 scholarship)

Main Street/Lifestyles

First: Rafiu Ali, TutorSAAB ($1,000 scholarship)

Second: Alison Conway, Castoff’s Creatives ($700 scholarship)

Third: Zakeya Johnson, Happy Ever After ($300 scholarship)

Big City/High Tech

First: Saad Mohiuddin and Elisa Schulz da Casto Mazzo, DiagnoSports ($1,000 scholarship)

Second: Joel Quarnstrom, Carson Taylor, and Tristen McCarter, SmartCaps ($700 scholarship)

Third: Elo Enwa, Loqui.AI ($300 scholarship)

Rising Entrepreneurs

First: Kyla Ellis, Events Unboxed ($1,500 scholarship)

People’s Choice

Alicia Young and Viswanath Nukala, Pherolize ($500 scholarship)

“This was one of the most successful Pitch and Poster competitions to date, and I couldn’t be more proud of these students,” said Paula McCullough, coordinator for the Riata Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. “I always enjoy seeing all the big ideas that these students produce and on competition day they really bring their game.”

Visit the website to learn more about the Riata Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.