SAN ANGELO, Texas — The winners of the 2024 BizPitch student entrepreneurship competition were announced by Angelo State University's Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and Norris-Vincent College of Business (NVCOB) after the recent live finals event in the LeGrand Alumni and Visitors Center.
The competition started in January - individual ASU students or teams of up to four students were invited to submit video pitches of their ideas for new business startups. A panel of ASU business faculty and SBDC specialists selected five finalists to make live pitch presentations to a panel of judges made up of local business professionals.
Winners of the 2024 BizPitch competition are:
First place ($2,500 prize) - Helm AV Services
Samuel Helm of San Angelo, management major
Business tagline: "Raise Your Voice."
Second place ($1,500 prize) - Citroshine
Linh Bui of San Angelo, finance major
Business tagline: "Our health, Our environment, Our next generation."
Third place ($1,000 prize) - Pathfinder Tech Support
Cole Ballard of Burnet, computer science major
Braxton Fox of San Angelo, computer science major
Business tagline: "Transforming Tech Frustrations into Confidence."
Finalist ($250 prize) - Precision Planning
Emily Nadeau of Abilene, management major
Business tagline: "Plan Smart, Achieve More."
Finalist ($250 prize) - Restyled Trends
Xandria DeLaCruz of Sweetwater, management major
Business tagline: "Fashion Reborn: style with a purpose."
Each of the finalists made eight-minute live presentations to the judges and answered questions during the finals event. The cash prizes are for the winners to use as seed money for their new ventures.
The panel of business professionals who judged the finals included:
- Zach Balderas - First Financial Bank
- Leonard "Lenny" Christo - Goodfellow Air Force Base
- Bailey Dominguez - Armstrong, Backus & Co., LLP
- Andi Markee - Media Advantage
- Tammy Merwin - TCP Software & West Texas Funk
The BizPitch competition is designed to provide ASU students with opportunities to learn through interaction with SBDC business advisors and ASU faculty mentors and alumni who are successful in business, as well as to promote and foster student entrepreneurship at the university.
This year's competition was sponsored by BEPC, Hydraulic Industrial Services LLC, the Old Central Firehouse Pizzeria & Taproom, and the Waterford Wellness Spa.
