Panther Pitch competition for student entrepreneurs to take place March through May, 2023
The first-ever UPEI Panther Pitch competition took place two years ago as part of the Harry W. MacLauchlan Entrepreneurship Program. This year, UPEI's Experiential Education Department is re-offering the program through March, culminating in a pitch competition in May.
Participating student teams will be matched with mentor support and be given the opportunity to compete for $6,000 in awards and a chance to pitch in front of a live audience. Teams that are chosen to pitch in the final event will earn significant public exposure for their start-up idea and will compete for a portion of $50,000 in prize money to be used to support their start-up venture.
The Harry W. MacLauchlan Entrepreneurship Program is dedicated to the development of students with an entrepreneurial outlook who will create and lead new ventures on PEI. Harry W. MacLauchlan (1926–2002) combined his entrepreneurial initiative, work ethic, business judgment, and people skills, with a deep commitment to his family, community, and province. The MacLauchlan family has endowed this award to help advance and encourage entrepreneurial students at UPEI to build innovative ventures that will grow and benefit Prince Edward Island communities.
“There are many UPEI students out there with innovative business ideas that would benefit Prince Edward Island, but it can be hard for students to get their ideas off the ground,” said Shannon Snow, Work Integrated Learning Faculty Liaison with the UPEI Department of Experiential Education. “The generosity of the MacLauchlan family creates a unique opportunity for students to invest in themselves and realize their entrepreneurial potential. This is a great way to support students in their career goals. We want them to see career pathways into entrepreneurship so that they can grow the Island’s economy and become our future business leaders.”
To be eligible for the Panther Pitch, students must register their teams by March 12, 2023. All team members must be current UPEI undergraduate students and each team must also include at least one member who is enrolled in or has completed one of BUS 3710, ENGN 3420, or SCIE 3010. Registered teams will be notified of their acceptance into the program by Monday, March 13 and matched with mentors based on their venture needs.
Registered teams will be invited to submit pitches for consideration for four entrepreneurship awards and participation in the final pitch event by March 31, 2023. Team awards include: Most Innovative Venture ($1,500 value); Positive Impact Award ($1,500 value); Best Market Research ($1,500 value); and Best Financial Plan ($1,500 value). Teams will be notified of award winners and pitch finalists the week of April 10, 2023.
The final pitch event will take place on May 2, 2023 and will be open to the public to attend. Selected pitch finalist teams will make their case as to how a portion of the $50,000 prize fund could support their venture development. Following the pitches, a reception will be held while the judges deliberate. The event will culminate with announcements of the winning teams and prize allotments to individual ventures.
Former UPEI student and entrepreneur Nooshin Abedi was a member of one of three winning student-entrepreneur teams in the first-ever Panther Pitch UPEI event in 2021. She believes entrepreneurs face several challenges such as raising start-up investment, developing the business, building true confidence, and collaborating with potential partners.
“Being a student entrepreneur worsens these issues since society does not see you as a truly competent and viable businessperson. This is something the team and myself personally experienced as student entrepreneurs,” said Abedi. “The Panther Pitch competition provided us with an invaluable opportunity to gain recognition and build trust. As a result of this support, the challenges that we faced were not as daunting as they might have been otherwise. This competition gave us great public exposure and credentials which have helped us tremendously. Our company, PathCan Consulting Inc. is very grateful for the opportunity that Panther Pitch UPEI provided.”
For more information about competition rules, application process and contact information, please visit https://www.upei.ca/pantherpitch
