The Lock Haven University Pitch Entrepreneurship Competition was held on December 3 in the Durrwachter Alumni Conference Center Ballroom on campus.
The competition is an opportunity for LHU students to propose interesting projects for themselves and the community, while competing for a prize. This year, the projects were competitive and included two ghost kitchen projects; an ecological container sailing project; a European coffee and tea company, who is interested in opening in the U.S. market; and a project proposing to transform the Lock Haven levee into a riverfront with bars and restaurants.
The prizes were supplied by the European company with their brand, TheCapSoul. A total of $1,000 was distributed.
The winner was the ecological container sailing company who won $500. The project was led by LHU business students Ryan Callahan, Robert Shaffer and Eric. Their idea was to prove that sailing is an ecological and reliable way to ensure a fully ecological supply chain for consumer brands. They would like to sell a seal to be found on the consumer products that proves the brand complies with the ecological supply chain principle and so reduces the carbon footprint.
The judges were Ed Shifflett and Micah Clausen, local community entrepreneurs; Barbara Masorti and Richard Conklin, Lock Haven City Councilmembers; Abbigail Roberts, Lock Haven City Planner; and Silvana Mallia, marketing manager of TheCapSoul, who was on Zoom from Europe.
"It is a real honor to be involved with students and help them fine tune their great ideas," said Dr. Gerard Martorell, who is tutoring the projects. "Any of the projects this year can see light if students want it. Could you imagine we create a sailing container ship company here in Lock Haven? And, why not!"
All the presented projects plan to apply for the State System Startup Challenge organized by Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education. They expect to be able to reach the final event in April 2022. Winners will receive up to $10,000 for their projects.
For more information on Lock Haven University, visit www.commonwealthu.edu, email admissions@commonwealthu.edu, or call 570-484-2011.
Lock Haven University’s main campus is located on the West Branch of the Susquehanna River in the scenic mountains of Pennsylvania. The university offers 49 undergraduate majors and certifications with 47 minors and five graduate programs.
LHU is a member of Pennsylvania’s State System, the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas of study. Nearly 520,000 system alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.
