Mallory Burke ’22, first-place winner of the Spring 2021 Bluejay Tank Competition.Seven Elmhurst college students demonstrated their entrepreneurial spirit on the second annual Bluejay Tank competitors on April 21, pitching enterprise ideas starting from a music manufacturing firm and a grill-cleaning service to an app designed to assist faculty college students maintain monitor of their wallets.Modeled loosely on the favored TV present Shark Tank, the competitors offers college students the prospect to pitch their enterprise concepts to a panel of skilled entrepreneurs in alternate for suggestions and a shot at $3,000 in money prizes.Mallory Burke ’22 of Evergreen Park, Ill., gained first place for GrillGirlz, a barbecue grill deep-cleaning service that she began final summer season with a $120 mortgage from her mother and father. With 9 staff—all girls—the enterprise is on monitor to earn a web revenue of greater than $18,000 this yr.With her $1,500 prize, Burke plans to trademark her enterprise, present security coaching to staff, construct an internet site and increase to different states.“Before the competitors, I used to be at a degree the place I wasn’t certain the place to take my enterprise,” she mentioned. “Winning gave me the arrogance to push ahead. And as a participant, I’ve made connections with individuals who may help me succeed.”Matthew Gans ’21 of Batavia, Ill., gained second place and $1,000 for MGProductions, a photograph and video advertising and marketing firm that has produced adverts for Aston Martin and different high companies. Third place and $500 went to Luis Chavez ’22 of Rolling Meadows, Ill., for Scanology, a web based device that helps highschool college students discover the proper faculty.“As a first-generation scholar, I didn’t have a lot assist with my faculty and scholarship search, Chavez mentioned. “I keep in mind staying up all night time in search of faculties whereas I juggled commencement necessities, homework assignments and different extracurricular actions. By creating Scanology, not solely can we assist college students thrive, we may help them by means of their journey.”As a part of their prize, all three winners can have the chance to fulfill with enterprise capitalist Larry Hayward, companion and co-founder of Independence Equity, to get tips about presenting their enterprise plans to buyers.This yr’s judges have been Daisy Betance ’11, founding father of natural skin-care firm Little Buddha; Michael Foytlin ’21, who gained the 2020 competitors; and Bruce Fischer, director of the grasp’s program in challenge administration. Mark Heintz, a method advisor and future adjunct professor for the graduate certificates program in entrepreneurship, served because the choose foreman and scoring tabulator. Entrepreneur in Residence Patrick Yanahan ’94, MBA ’10, and Weigand Center Executive Director Martin Gahbauer served as facilitators.The different finalists have been:Alec Goldberg ’23, founding father of Oaks Productions, a music-production companyAlex Goodell ’23, whose nonprofit, Tech for Smiles, would supply tax write-offs to companies to advertise recycling of used electronicsJared Plotka ’21, whose enterprise, Reserve Bank, would mix in-person cryptobanking with cafesJoshua Sawyer ’23, founding father of College LT&F, which might pair GPS-enabled wallets and keychains with an app to assist individuals maintain monitor of their stuff“All seven enterprise plans have been properly thought out and really related and sound,” mentioned Yanahan. “I can’t say sufficient about how impressed we have been with the standard of the forward-thinking displays of those younger individuals, and the real power and drive that they exhibited.”
