Second Annual Kittrell Pitch Competition kicks off with first qualifying round
Lacey Klotz |
It is difficult to imagine life without well-known brands such as Apple, Coca-Cola and Facebook.
These businesses, however, all have two things in common: good products and good leadership driving the product.
Apple, Coca-Cola and Facebook have managed to place their products in the minds of consumers above all other brands, and have done so by the leadership of Steve Jobs, Muhtar Kent and Mark Zuckerberg.
Lipscomb’s Center for Entrepreneurship recognizes this trend and aims to produce the next generation of innovative entrepreneurial leaders in the greater Nashville area and beyond.
For its second year, the Center for Entrepreneurship is providing the Kittrell Pitch Competition to students as it kicked off this year’s competition with its first qualifying round last month.
Funded by Marty Kittrell, an alumnus and member of Lipscomb University’s Board of Trustees, the Kittrell Pitch Competition provides current Lipscomb students the chance to create their own business models and gain experience pitching their ideas to judges who represent future investors.
Kittrell has provided $20,000 for the 2015-16 competition in honor of his father, William, who was a 1941 graduate of Lipscomb.
“Marty Kittrell has extensive career experience in a variety of industries and brings a tremendous amount of value and knowledge to our Lipscomb 
students,” said Jerry Stubblefield, entrepreneur-in-residence for the Center of Entrepreneurship.
“We had great success with the first annual Kittrell Competition and were very impressed with this year’s pitches as well,” added Joe Ivey, executive director of the Center of Entrepreneurship. “Behind any great product is a person that is willing to believe in it and go to great lengths to ensure that it has a bright and prosperous future.”
Eight Lipscomb students pitched their business ideas to three judges including Betsy Jones, the founder of Countdown Group; David Beckert, a Lipscomb alumni and the CEO of 4UMD; as well as Scout Rouse, entrepreneur-in-residence at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, for a $2,500 first place, $1,500 second place and $1,000 third place cash prize within the qualifying round.
Hannah Huffines, an entrepreneurship major at Lipscomb, won first place during the qualifying round with her bakery, Sweet Bites that promises gluten-free goods, without the gluten-free taste.
Huffines proved to be well-researched on her competitive market, price-point, annual gross-rate and ways to grow her business both by advertisement and through new and tasty products as the judges questioned and challenged her business model.
Second and third place winners included AJ Vincent who pitched her business, Fitness by Verse, a workout with a bible study; as well as Luke Benda, Macy Cottrell, Ben Siebold and Kayla Ford who pitched their business, Ed. Pack Global, a backpack company that for every backpack sold, a donation is made towards funding female education both in developing countries and in the United States.
First, second and third place winners received immediate entry into the final competition as well as a workshop with the Nashville Entrepreneur Center and mentor Scout Rouse. Rouse, a body language expert and entrepreneur-in-residence at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, will coach the top three winners from the first qualifying round to help improve their business model, plans, marketing strategy and pitch possible for the final competition on April 6, 2016, where they will compete for a $10,000 first place prize.
“We have a strong connection with the Nashville Entrepreneurship Center, and our goal is to not only help students from the first qualifying round to better 
develop their business proposals for the final competition this spring, but to help offer students Nashville-wide connections and resources for their futures,” said Ivey.
Before the final competition, however, there will be one more chance for aspiring entrepreneurs to pitch their business models.
“We have a second qualifying round that will take place on Monday, April 4,” said Stubblefield. “Although there is no cash prize for this round, we hope that students who are passionate about entrepreneurship, have great ideas and want to be challenged by some of the brightest minds in Nashville, will come and be a part of this unique and esteemed competition sponsored by our good friend Marty Kittrell.”
Founded in 2011, Lipscomb’s Center for Entrepreneurship was created to serve as an academic hub for entrepreneurship, both on campus and in the community.
Built on three pillars: academics, campus outreach and community involvement, the center also offers a number of ways to help these students gain access to resources, guidance and connections that may help them achieve their dream of starting a business even before they graduate.
For more information, visit www.lipscomb.edu/entrepreneurship.