(WATCH) Making their pitch: Students and residents share business concepts at GCC competition | Top Story
6 min readBATAVIA — Sixteen individuals, primarily learners, set their business ideas out there ahead of judges and an viewers Tuesday at Genesee Neighborhood College’s Company Pitch Levels of competition.
Director of Business Plans/Assistant Professor of Enterprise Dr. Lina LaMattina stated there were 15 college students from GCC and 1 male from the local community who walked in and mentioned he wished to speak about an thought.
“We explained, ‘Why not? Do it.’ We really have a couple of persons from the local community that arrived in just to enjoy as perfectly, which is good. It is open up to any person,” she reported.
LaMattina reported the presenters had some good ideas. Prizes of $100 were being offered for first spot and $75 for 2nd spot in the “Most Realistic” and “Most Creative” classes.
Second-year GCC pupil Kayla Warwick of Attica experienced Swif-Tea Cafe on her intellect Tuesday.
The corporation would have a Taylor Swift topic, she reported — with drinks, decorations, karaoke.
“It’s just a massive desired destination position for all. You can be a Taylor Swift enthusiast. Any person could come and appreciate this enjoyable atmosphere when consuming scrumptious drinks,” she said. “I really like Taylor Swift and I appreciate coffee, so combining the two, I assumed, would be a good plan. I’ve just been a fan of Taylor Swift. She’s discovered me on TikTok. She’s invited me places. I just imagined this would be a great option and plan to combine my two preferred likes — coffee and Taylor Swift.”
Standing prior to judges Kelly Bermingham and Jim Krencik, Warwick was nervous at first, she claimed later.
“Once I began speaking and placing it up, it wasn’t as lousy,” she reported. “I imagined it was heading to be a whole lot even worse than it really was.”
Speaking to the judges, she explained as far as prospects for the business enterprise, a good deal of her mates are Taylor Swift admirers and that Swift has so numerous followers, there have to be other individuals in the spot who know who know who the singer is.
“We would attempt to be open up from all around 8 or 10 a.m. to close to 5 or 6-ish, relying on the day,” she mentioned. “The system is to have a area bakery present baked merchandise so that we could assist one more tiny organization as effectively.”
Warwick explained Swif-Tea expects about 1,200 consumers a thirty day period setting up off. Specialty beverages would be $4.50 for every cup. Basic coffee or tea would be much less, it’s possible $2.50 or $3.50 depending on the item.
Travis Gotts was there to make a pitch for Schucky Ducky’s, a cafe that would make specialty burgers and garbage plates. The food items would be adaptable to several nutritional requires, he said.
There would be vegetarian possibilities, for illustration, these as bean sauce adapted from his grandmother’s bean soup recipe, he said.
Staff would be paid out at minimum $15 per hour to get started, $16 if they have prior food company expertise. For just about every 10 hrs of work, they’ll get a issue.
“Those factors can be redeemed for a more substantial bonus at the conclude of the calendar year or paid out time off in the course of the calendar year,” he stated.
“We do not now have a place set up. There are a number of places I’m looking at and if they’re open by the time I get close to to in fact getting in a position to physically make this take place, they will make the great put,” he claimed. “It will be in Medina. When it will come to burgers and rubbish plates, there are only two locations that can say they have a specialty burger of their sort. There are no places that concentration on burgers or garbage plates.”
Brielle Jennings, a freshman from Syracuse talked about a small business she operates there termed BriixBandz clothing.
“My marketing and advertising possibility is significant-quality clothing at an economical price,” she explained. She mentioned the lead time on orders is about two to a few months, from time to time speedier than that.
Her firm eyesight contains looking at persons stroll about in her manufacturer, storefronts throughout the world, and seeing her apparel brand name on runways.
“Revenue will be earned from the product sales of my product. The pricing relies upon on the design and style and the product,” she mentioned.
Maritime Corps veteran Al Kurek of East Pembroke claimed he was at the Small business Pitch Competitors to briefly speak about an notion he and other folks are doing the job on for a armed forces museum in the county. It’s a thing veterans could get the job done on creating a truth, he stated.
Kurek explained he is with the Genesee County Veterans Affiliation, making an attempt to see if there is ample curiosity in beginning a navy museum or military services society.
“Freedom is not totally free and we want to preserve the prosperous historical past of our military services and honor our living and useless veterans from the regional region,” he stated right before the presentation.
As to the museum’s title, Kurek mentioned, “It’s likely to be up to our board of directors at the time we create 1. I’ve received half a dozen tips, but very little still.”
LaMattina reported the company shows integrated some about organizations college students are currently operating.
“We experienced Brielle (Jennings) who arrived in. She is a vogue important. She previously has her outfits line. She’s outsourcing the generation of the line,” LaMattina reported.
Just one scholar needs to open a dwelling-remodeling small business, focusing on kitchens. LaMattina mentioned she thought that was a magnificent concept.
“You don’t see a ton of ladies in that industry. I stated, ‘Good for you, you will be a position design for some others to do that,” she stated.
LaMattina reported the GCC did not care what sort of business someone was pitching.
“Researching it, glance into it. We try and information them as they are doing that and then they pull it together and existing,” LaMattina stated. “Some of the college students are really detailed. Some others are continue to a small a lot more tentative,but it is Alright. This is a fantastic, variety of a playground, practically. Pitch the idea, discipline some questions.
“Sometimes what will take place is, they’re investigating it and they get really caught up in that planet and they really don’t know what they never know,” he ongoing. “They haven’t absent out however. They have not been requested specified questions. They haven’t faced some of the problems .That’s why it’s great for them to get in front of the judges.”
The judges will provide concerns and suggestions.
“It’s superior for them to have to answer the questions and grow a minimal little bit,” she claimed.
LaMattina claimed if learners haven’t opened firms, Tuesday’s pitch could assistance open up their eyes to prospective difficulties that could get in their way if they really don’t deal with them.
“If they’ve by now commenced their small business, occasionally this banter back again and forth with the judges opens their eyes to other chances,” she said.