Brave Pitch Competition Yields Innovative Ideas

11/03/2014 1:28 PM

By Lindsay Anderson

Students from Bradley’s five colleges recently tested innovative business ideas in front of professionals at the annual Brave Pitch Competition sponsored by the Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Mobile apps, technology helps for visually impaired people and arthritis relief devices earned honors from judges.

Brave Pitch is an “elevator pitch” competition in which students students describe new ideas, innovations or social venture to a panel of judges and a student audience. No PowerPoint presentations or other visual tools may be used. The best three pitches win cash prizes.

“The variety of ideas is striking,” said Ken Klotz, managing director of the Turner School of Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “From smartphone apps to fitness to retail products. I am always proud of the courage displayed by our student competitors.”

This semester’s judging panel included Brian Ford, president of Facet Technologies; Brian Johnson, a Peoria-area business attorney and Amy Lambert, vice-president of Startup Peoria.

Three undergraduate students from the Foster College of Business won the top three awards.

Management and leadership major Victoria VonBergen ’15 of DeKalb, Illinois, placed first with her pitch of SecondLook, an app that would scan all past content on a person’s numerous social media accounts for anything a potential or current employer would find inappropriate. The app would then give the person the option to either keep or delete the post to give the user an improved web appearance.

“For me, Brave Pitch was not just about pitching a winning idea,” VonBergen said. “Brave Pitch gave me the opportunity to showcase how much Bradley has helped me to grow. As a freshman, I never would have thought I could stand in front of my peers, friends, professors, and a panel of established judges, and pitch my own idea like this.”

Entrepreneurship major Ethan Gipp ’16 of Peoria placed second with his pitch on a device that could help visually impaired and blind people identify those around them. The device would use face recognition and voice recognition through a concealed camera and an earpiece similar to those used with cell phones.

 “I was very impressed with the passion, enthusiasm, and thoughtfulness that many students brought to the competition,” Gipp said. “I think Brave Pitch does a great job of taking students beyond the classroom and placing them in a realistic marketplace mindset. Overall, it was a rewarding experience.”

Marketing and professional sales major Natalie Cabell ’18 of Overland Park, Kansas, placed third with a product geared toward people with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

“It is a glove that gives your hand passive range of motion while you are sleeping so that people with Rheumatoid Arthritis can wake up without pain and stiffness,” Cabell said. “I got inspired to make this product when I was diagnosed with RA a year and a half ago.”

“The Brave Pitch competition was a great way to throw your idea out there and see if it gets any traction,” Cabell continued. “The more people you talk to, the more constructive criticism you will get and the better your product will become.”