Issued on April 24, 2024
caption: Team Members Lane Degenhart (left) and Rich Simmerman (right) hold up the Pelican Cup for Entrepreneurship trophy for their company., Cantaloupe won $50,000. Grand Prize Business plan competition.
Monroe, Louisiana – The Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup held its third annual awards luncheon at ULM’s Bayou Pointe Events Center on April 19, 2024. The luncheon was the culmination of the Entrepreneurship Competition, which awarded $96,000 in prize money to the top three teams and their faculty mentors, as voted on by luncheon attendees, as well as a cash prize to the winner of the Live Elevator Pitch Competition.
Team Cantaloupe, comprised of students from Tulane University and Southeastern Louisiana University, won the $50,000 grand prize. Their business plan is a software solution to help food service and hospitality companies hire and reduce turnover. Cantaloupe features a team leader.Rich Simmerman, Team MemberJoshua Anderson, Lane Degenhart, and advisor Jane Cooper.
The second place prize of $25,000 went to Tipzy, a team from Tulane University. Tipzy is a software platform designed to simplify the process of receiving and managing song requests in bars, catering to the needs of both bar owners and patrons. Tipzy features a team leader:Josh McCoy, Team MemberJake Marzullo and Tenley Gorman, along with advisor Rob Lalca.
Third place and $10,000 in prize money went to Trigworks, a team from ULM that aims to revolutionize muscle care with an eco-friendly heat-activated massage tool. Trigworks will feature team leaders:Janet Stopka, team members Mackenzie King, Viktor Motov, Valeria Trubskaya, and advisor Veronchia Humphreys.
Advisors to the top three teams also received a cash prize of $3,000 each.
The winner of the live elevator pitch competition was Supriya Pudasainy of Sketchman. Pudasainy received the most votes from luncheon attendees, who voted by text message after listening to each team’s 90-second pitch, and won the $2,000 prize. Sketchman is an AI-powered application designed to create sketches of criminals based on witness descriptions for use by law enforcement agencies.
Now in its third year, the Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup expanded eligibility and opened the competition to teams from any four-year university or junior college in Louisiana. The competition received 22 entries, including teams from Louisiana Monroe University, University of New Orleans, Tulane University, Southeastern Louisiana University, University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Centenary College of Louisiana and Northwestern State University.
Dhu Thompson, premier sponsor and founder of the Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup, spoke at the luncheon.
After thanking those who helped make the competition possible and sharing his own entrepreneurial experiences, Thompson spoke directly to the student participants, telling them, “Failure is inevitable for entrepreneurs.”“Once you fail, you start to see things through the eyes of experience, and then when you start to succeed, you achieve goals you never imagined,” Thompson said. He also encouraged people to set goals, saying, “True self-confidence comes from setting goals and achieving them.”
About the Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup
With a total prize of $96,000, the Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup is Louisiana’s premier business plan competition and is open to students of all majors. The competition provides students with the opportunity to practice critical thinking, team building, presentations, and other soft skills important for career growth. The goal is to inspire participants and the community to foster an entrepreneurial spirit by celebrating creativity, professionalism, and hard work. Twenty-two teams submitted formal written business plans that were reviewed and scored individually by a panel of 16 volunteer judges made up of business owners and investors. The judges then deliberated in groups to select the six finalist teams.
The six finalist teams gave face-to-face oral presentations on March 26th.Number At The Hangar on the ULM campus, a panel of six volunteer judges listened closely to each team’s presentation of their business plan and supporting visuals. The judges then deliberated to select first, second and third place winners.
The Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup was founded by notable ULM alumnus Du Thompson. Thompson is the founder, former owner and former chairman of the board of directors of Delta Plastics, a manufacturer of agricultural irrigation tubing and the largest plastic recycler in Arkansas. He is also the former owner and former chairman of the board of directors of Revolution Bags, which makes EPA-compliant trash can liners. Thompson’s awards include Arkansas Business Executive of the Year and SBA Person of the Year in 2004. In 2019, he sold the Revolution brand to a New York private equity firm and is now focused on growing entrepreneurship in Arkansas and Louisiana. In 2023, Thompson received the Warhawk Ambassador Award, one of ULM’s highest honors. In early 2024, Thompson will be inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.
For more information about the Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup, please visit Pelican Cup
To see more photos from the 2024 Entrepreneur Pelican Cup Awards Luncheon,
here.
To watch the Awards Luncheon video, here.
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