Georgetown Entrepreneurship Hosts Largest Summer Launch Showcase June 29

Despite the transition to a virtual environment, Georgetown Entrepreneurship’s Summer Launch Showcase featured 32 students, its highest participation to date. With over 20 different companies, the program is only gaining more popularity and involvement, speaking to the ever-growing success of the entrepreneurship culture and passion at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.

The Summer Launch Showcase is the culmination of the month-long incubator where current students and recent graduates diligently work on their startup ideas throughout the month of June. Georgetown McDonough gathers faculty, mentors, and other experienced entrepreneurs to help them craft a pitch that communicates their idea, all of the hard work, and grit that went into creating their startup. At the event, which took place Monday, June 29, students presented their new and improved startup projects for the first time as the next generation of entrepreneurs. 

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Summer Launch Showcase was held virtually [watch the video]. Through mentorship and guided curriculum, each team worked to elevate their business to the next level during this month-long process.

“The students adapted extraordinarily well and proved that this showcase can really turn their ideas into a reality — no matter the location or time zone,” said David Lange, program manager, Georgetown Entrepreneurship.

This program has a long-standing history of preparing and developing student’s entrepreneurial skills. For many students, the showcase is their first time presenting their new businesses to the public to be seen and judged. 

“One of the most important things an entrepreneur can learn is how to talk about their idea,” said Lange. “This is the cornerstone of networking effectively and pitching their startup to possible investors.”

During the month of June, students have worked diligently in a new, virtual environment to grow and improve their startups. They are excited to finally display their hard work to the public during this virtual event.

This year’s companies include: 

Bevry Social Media Co.: Bevry Social Media Co. is a media company that manages social media pages targeted at creating a central location for brands to post about their giveaways. This company acts as a place where social media users can find a collection of current giveaways on a range of social media platforms. Before, users had to know about the giveaways by coming across them on a brand’s account. It is led by Alex Cywes (SFS’23).

Chow Corp: Chow is a 501(c)(3) and future operator of food trucks that honors America’s veterans by providing a pathway for aspiring culinary professionals coming from military service by operating one of their food trucks. It is led by Jordan James Foley (L’21).

Community Crownz: Community Crownz is a marketing and branding video production service for NFL athletes. This service aims to produce and deliver video content directly to NFL players for them to build their “self-brands” on social media. It is led by Nicholas Genovese (G’21).  

Conch District: Conch District is a catering and restaurant business that offers Caribbean seafood to primarily shellfish-lovers that lack exposure to diverse shellfish options such as conch, a delicacy that is specifically found in the Caribbean waters. It is led by Herbert Lamont Reynolds (SCS’20). 

DeepSea: DeepSea is in the early stages of coding on premise cyber network penetration testing software. Their goal is to patent their software at soonest and market this product to scale in order to serve clients in both commercial and federal sectors. It is led by Elliot Loper (MBA’21), Tanner Courtney, and Evan McBroom.

DrinkMore: DrinkMore’s idea is to create an online retail store with a chain of smaller distribution centers or stores, specifically closer to their target audience, which stresses faster delivery, lower prices, and providing a wider variety of alcohol brands to the audience. It is led by Baldev Chopra (MBA’21), Saransh Gupta (MBA’21), and Dhruv Solanki (MBA’21).

Ehm Apparel: Ehm produces quality jeans and pants to increase the confidence and comfort of curvy and athletic women. It seeks to change the standard sizing to create an inclusive and need-fulfilling space for the target demographic. It is led by Sofia Sulikowski (B’21).

Gameville Entertainment: Gameville Entertainment is a leisure and recreational Rwanda-based company that specializes in outdoor games, team building activities, and event planning. They are the only company providing team building activities and they regularly form partnerships with other organizations to provide better services. It is led by Steven Mucyo (B’20).

I-Fi: I-Fi is a SaaS company dedicated to democratizing financial planning to provide financial advice. They aim to provide an entire platform for better financial decision-making for all the unknowns in life using both cash flow-based and goal-based planning systems (industry best practices),  as well as integrated with popular financial services platforms. It is led by Johnathan Roberts (G’20). 

Kits to Heart: Kits of Hope is a social enterprise that seeks to revolutionize cancer care by providing a thoughtfully designed, curated cancer care kit for patients. Not only will the kit include items that patients need during the course of treatment, but also it will provide easily accessible, frequently updated information on local and online resources, events, meetups, therapists, and more. It is led by Sonia Su (SFS’20).

Parrotfish: Parrotfish provides plastic free, palm-oil free, personal care products. You now have the ability to ditch your branded plastic bottles and showcase a handmade bar that always strikes up a conversation. There is no plastic, less waste, and more savings. It is led by Katherine Pearson (SCS’20). 

Project Olas: Project Olas employs moms in vulnerable Central American communities as Spanish language tutors via WhatsApp. They partner with financial literacy NGOs on the ground in places like the Guatemala City Garbage Dump, to outsource employment and training of moms, and simultaneously maintain a hyper local approach. It is led by Rebecca Cox (SFS’23).

$cratch: $cratch empowers regular people to pool resources to invest in real estate and fast-growing companies. It is led by Michael G. Cox (MBA’20).

Sherpa: Small businesses are hurting from COVID-19 and Sherpa is preparing for a prospective tourism boom after the pandemic. They want consumers to be better connected and have discounts with local businesses through a subscription service. Meanwhile, their free model allows users to see what trendy places their friends have gone to without having to ask them. It is led by Phoenix Do (B’21) and William Powers (B’21).

Student Bridge: Student Bridge offers short-term loans to graduate students to help provide them the capital they need to get them to their next federal student loan refund or the start of their summer or full-time job. The loans are designed for all students that need extra capital, from those that face an emergency, like unexpected medical bills, to those that just want a little extra cash around the holidays. It is led by Anthony Malone (L’20). 

Spotlight: Spotlight is an educational technology startup that offers an end-to-end solution that streamlines the fragmented hiring process, reduces bias, and uniquely educates students. Spotlight goes beyond classroom learning and provides innovative educational modules centered on industry-based skills and competencies made in partnership with industry professionals. It is led by Jacob Sabel (MiM’20), and Tanatswa Mapondera (MiM’20).

Sun Kissed Skincare: Sun Kissed Skincare is a natural skin care company that curates the best of nature’s gifts to heal the skin. Their products are culturally derived from the founders’ South Sudanese and Bahamian heritage. They are a faith-based company that believes in the value of giving back; to their community partners, to the people who use their products, and to nature through conservation. It is led by Aluwet Deng (B’21) and Brittany Jonee Malcolm (B’21). 

TBD: Catherine Tenuta (MBA’21) looks to create a solution to waste, apparel’s most significant impact. Her plan is to launch a circular apparel line that offers sustainably sourced products with a continuous life cycle.

Phoenix: Erika Wohl (MBA’20) looks to create a vertically integrated cannabis company with a diverse product portfolio and delivery sales in East Bay.

Terra: Terra addresses the absence of a quantitative measure of a consumer’s sustainability. The Sustainable Lifestyle Score provided by Terra will aggregate data from a consumer’s utilities usage and consumption patterns and then assign a Sustainable Lifestyle Score. It is led by Luis Garzon-Negreiros (MBA/MSFS’20). 

UHustle: UHustle is an online marketplace for college students with side hustles. They make purchasing from students easier, safer, and efficient. It is led by Christy Felix (B’20).

What’s the Move?: For young adults from all walks of life who want to fully experience everything their city has to offer, “What’s the Move?” is a location-based mobile application that makes finding plans easy. Simply input how much you would like to spend, the vibe of the outing, the number of people, and “WTM?” will put together the perfect outing at the touch of a button. It is led by Amanuel Ghebremicael (B’20), Marvellous Osagie-Erese (B’20), and Justus Pugh (B’20).