On April 18, the Entrepreneurship Club will host a business pitch competition in the Martin Center Ballroom.
Modeled after the popular show Shark Tank, the competition, named Ram Tank, will give student entrepreneurs the chance to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges for the chance of winning five different cash prizes.
Junior business management major Chisara Ukpaka serves as officer of relations and event planning for Entrepreneurship Club. She, along with other Entrepreneurship Club officers, collaborated to plan the upcoming event.
“We wanted to attend a pitch competition,” Ukpaka said. “The idea came about, well, why don’t we host our own?”
Until the April 3 deadline, the club accepted one-to-two-minute video pitches from aspiring competitors. The club received over 30 submissions. Of the 30, the best five will be chosen to participate in the final competition. The submissions will be judged on clarity, conciseness, engagement, persuasiveness and professionalism.
“Out of all the videos we’ve seen, it’s very tough to kind of see who will be our top five to go to the mainstage on the 18th,” Ukpaka said. “I think it’s going to be a tough decision for our judges.”
Thanks to an anonymous sponsor, the winner of the competition will be awarded a grand prize of $2,500. Cash prizes are also offered to the runners-up; $1,500 is awarded to second place, $1,000 to third place, and $500 given to both fourth and fifth place.
Along with the cash prizes, the five teams nominated for the final competition will receive mentorships from the judging panel. The panel includes alumni business owners, an alumni patent lawyer, and school of business faculty.
Associate Professor of Economics Dr. Gokcen Ogruk-Maz serves as faculty adviser of the Entrepreneurship Club.
“This is not just competition, it’s a networking event,” Ogruk-Maz said. “It’s a great opportunity for students to get feedback from school of business faculty and senior staff.”
The Ram Tank event will begin at 4:30 p.m. with registration and Tex-Mex food provided by Aramark. Next, competitors and audience members will be given the chance to network with judges and spectating alumni. The pitch competition will follow along with the award ceremony and closing remarks. The event is planned to end at 8 p.m. Ram Tank is open for all Wesleyan students to spectate.
The Entrepreneurship Club hopes to make Ram Tank an annual competition. President of the club, senior business management major Hans Laufer expressed this aspiration.
“While this is the first one [Ram Tank] that we’re hosting, going into further years after our fundraising increases and other students kind of see the importance of the entrepreneurship pitch competition and what it can do for you,” Laufer said. “We expect there’s going to be a huge increase in the number of students that are willing to participate.”
