TMCF Students Shine During THE PITCH™ Competition at Winston-Salem State University

WASHINGTON, D.C., June 07, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- THE PITCH™ competition didn’t disappoint.

The annual intra and entrepreneurial training featuring 197 students from 43 Historically Black Colleges and Universities hosted by Thurgood Marshall College Fund’s (TMCF) Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E) team featured exciting and creative presentations along with dynamic speakers, engaged partners who also served as judges, and plenty of emotion after the winning team was announced.

The competition included the top 10 from the third cohort of 50 MetaScholars, the largest cohort to date. In the ten weeks leading up to the final competition, the MetaScholars completed ten weeks of core learning and skills acquisition in the Metaverse, blockchain, and Web3 technology, equipping them with the skills necessary to succeed in the rapidly evolving business landscape.

With the expansion of THE PITCH™ into the metaverse, TMCF was excited to launch CampusONE, an ecosystem of immersive space designed to prepare emerging intra and entrepreneurs for jobs of the future while unlocking opportunities for corporate engagement. TMCF’s persistent metaverse presence, CampusONE, is the next version of I&E’s web 3 programming. It serves as the hub of all web3 programming, including MetaScholars and the Monolith Garden.

During the competition, teams developed solutions to business, social, or educational challenges and pitched their ideas to expert judges composed of entrepreneurs, small business owners, executives, venture capitalists, and other investors. The celebrity judges for the final round competition, which featured six teams (four in-world and two meta-verse based), were Hill Harper, author, and actor; Mickeia Jackson, managing director at CBRE; and Chantel Powell, Founder & CEO @PlayPits.

The winning team, Environmental Justice League, created the Aerobloom, which filters pollutants out of the air, analyzes the emissions and makes for a cleaner, better world. Their winning pitch earned each team member $5,000.

Schools that students represented on the winning team were two from Alabama A&M University and one each from Southern University and A&M College, Tennessee State University, Bluefield State University, and Virginia State University.

This victory confirmed the excellence one student of the winning team already knew was inside of her even though she arrived in Winston-Salem with some doubts. 

“I had imposter syndrome with all these great business minds here, and I was like, I don’t know if I could be in this crowd with these people,” said Jaidyn Nix who attends Southern University and A&M College. “I am in total shock right now. To see my potential is amazing. When we first started our group, we were like, this is an excellent idea, and we can take this, but seeing it happen and win is wild. I have no words. 

“The challenging part is we had a finite problem, and there were so many different parts that go into that problem and make a simple solution that people could buy into. We went through three ideas in about 10 minutes and got our creative thoughts together that could be seen in the real world. This experience was everything to me.” 

The students spent a memorable week on the campus of Winston-Salem State University networking, learning, offering solutions to real-world challenges, and being empowered with critical entrepreneurial, technology, and business skills needed for success beyond their collegiate experience.

Members of the second-place team, Culture Closet, representing Alabama A&M University, Langston University, North Carolina A&T University, and Hampton University, won $2,000 each. Langston and Alabama A&M had two students each on this team. Culture Closet is a curation of emerging Black owned clothing brands that utilizes artificial intelligence technology to allow the consumer to try on clothes before purchasing.

Coming in third place was Sankofa Scholars featuring students representing Norfolk State, North Carolina A&T, Howard, and Langston University and they won $1,000 each, was Sankofa Scholars with the idea for a new platform called SkillBridge. This platform provides high school students with the job-relevant skills to help them succeed in future internships and full-time employment during and after college.

There were three members from Langston University on this team.

Nalone Sumo of Southern University and A&M College and Leona Thompson of Howard University won $1,000 each after being named the Most Outstanding Participants.

The total cash distributed for the event was $72,500, including the gift cards for all participants plus the actual final round prizes. There was also $100,000 dispersed in tech prizes bringing THE PITCH™ total award value to $172,500 for all participating students. 

In addition, every student participant successfully onboarded into the metaverse and received a Meta-Quest 2 Oculus thanks to an in-kind donation.

THE PITCH™ is a fusion of technology and business acumen, bringing together “techie” students interested in building mobile apps and developing their technical skills with business-minded students who understand what it takes to succeed in business. The program aims to train future innovators from HBCUs in the skills necessary to generate economic success by identifying the next generation of global entrepreneurs from the Black college community.

“We are always appreciative of the investment of our partners which included A James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, CBRE, Infosys, Wells Fargo, Wabtech, Toyota, Medtronic, Reynolds, TP Foundation, Rose International, E&J Gallo and Lowes along with their intentional engagement with our students to help make THE PITCH™ a success,” TMCF Chief Innovation & Growth Officer George Spencer said. “The competition provides an incredible learning opportunity for the participants of The PITCH™. I am thrilled that our innovators are leaving Winston-Salem with skills and experiences to help them succeed in life and unlock their full potential.”

CONTACT: Rob Knox
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
robert.knox@tmcf.org