Students Pitch Their Venture Ideas and Win Prize Money at Fall 2022 Rocket Pitch
Georgetown Entrepreneurship recently hosted the highly anticipated Fall 2022 Rocket Pitch Competition – an annual “elevator pitch” competition where Georgetown students from all degree programs present a two-minute pitch in front of a panel of esteemed judges and an audience of peers and professionals.
This year, 33 Georgetown student entrepreneur teams participated in the pitch competition. The participating startups included food-related businesses, diverse recruiting services, dating apps, and more. Of the competing teams, Macromush – a protein bar designed for people with food allergies – took home the grand prize of $1,500.
“The competition was fierce for this year’s Rocket Pitch Competition and we are very proud of all of the competing teams for preparing and delivering their startup pitches,” said Jeff Reid, founding director of Georgetown Entrepreneurship. “A special thank you to our participating students as well as to our broader Georgetown community for showing their support at this year’s competition.”
The 2022 winners include:
The grand prize winner of $1,500 was Macromush, founded by Alexander McCarthy (B’23). Macromush is a protein bar with protein derived from white mushrooms and targets consumers with any of the eight major food allergens, as they currently do not have access to an adequate protein bar that is both allergen-free and healthy.
The second prize winner of $750 was BuddyBand, founded by Clark Jones (B’24) and Daniela Delgado (B’25). The Buddyband is a tech-infused bracelet specialized for kids with Autism Spectrum Disorder that allows caretakers to be assured of their kid’s safety.
The Eisenberg Family Prize for first-generation student entrepreneurs for $1,000 was awarded to WorkStudy, founded by Chuma Azinge (B’23). WorkStudy addresses lacking representation in the financial services and consulting industries by offering diverse individuals exposure, training, and hands-on experience through internships.
The Entrepreneurship for the Common Good Prize of $1,000 for startups that best embody the Spirit of Georgetown and our commitment to using entrepreneurship to advance the common good was awarded to Bridger by Mason Kane (G’23), Hussen Haikal Alhadar (G’23), and Nehemia Abel (G’23). Bridger is a job-matching app that was created to help overcome the information gap by developing a user-generated data platform to match migrant job-seekers with companies through a swipe interaction interface.
The People’s Choice Award of $250 was given to Campfire Music Foundation, founded by Johannes Larson (C’23) and Sophia Kloncz (C’23). Campfire Music Foundation is a 501c(3) nonprofit founded to build a sustainable, transparent, and public-benefit digital music streaming service.
The Fall 2022 Rocket Pitch Competition concluded with a keynote presentation from Chris Comparato, the Chief Executive Officer and a Director of Toast, who has an extensive background in leading high growth SaaS, software, and consulting companies with a focus on customer success and building strong teams.
The event was sponsored by the Stanton Distinguished Leaders Series, which brings Georgetown University leaders to campus who are renowned in their fields to share their unique experiences with students and alumni of the McDonough School of Business, as well as to engage in dialogue about leadership in an ever-changing world. The series was made possible through the support of Georgetown parents Daniel and Mary Stanton.