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Five minutes. One big idea. One shot at making an impression.
Welcome to The Pitch, an annual “Shark Tank”-style competition that invites students of all majors to take their business ideas to a panel of local experts with the possibility of nabbing a cash prize.
Each pitch has to be backed up by a business plan and polished enough to convey its message in a strict, five-minute time limit. Questions about financing, market viability and other potential stress points follow from the judges.
“This is the kind of pressure that students will be under in the real world,” said Betsy Parkins, director of Roanoke College’s Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Innovation (CLEI). “This is what they’ll need to be able to do. Building that bridge between the classroom environment and a real-world business environment is so important.”
The Pitch, which is co-sponsored by the CLEI and the City of Salem, is a chance for students to test their business savvy, analytical thinking skills and powers of persuasion. Competitors ranged from freshmen to seniors and from biology to business majors.
The lessons imparted stretched far beyond the world of the boardroom. Janaé Henry ’23, who scooped up second place with a proposal for a photography operation, already has her sights set on a career in criminal justice – her major – but said she wanted to stretch herself when The Pitch came around this year.
She was nervous to take center stage for her presentation, but she impressed the judges with the in-depth research she had done – a skill set that will serve her well in a future job in the courts.
She summed up what she had taken away from the competition in one word: “Confidence,” she said. “Being able to be confident in your work, I think that’s huge.”
This year’s judging panel brought together two regional business leaders with their own track records of innovation. Heidi Stone, president and CEO of Mountain Lake Lodge in Giles County, led her historic resort through a reinvention that propelled it to the most successful year of its more than seven-decade history.
“You have incredibly bright students at Roanoke College,” she said after hearing their pitches. “Some of the work they’ve done here shows thinking that is ahead of their years.”
Joining her at the judge’s table was Brad Boettcher, innovation administrator for the City of Roanoke, where he works to help start-ups and leading-edge industries grow. Boettcher said he was impressed by the sharp ideas that even first-year students presented. “The work and attention to detail and research was fantastic,” he said.
This year’s top award was captured by one of the youngest competitors. Andy Kosovskiy ’25 blended his business major and biology minor into an idea that he hopes to one day make a reality. His pitch, Quick-N-Out, envisions a 24-hour community health care clinic dedicated to serving low-income and rural areas and offering a low-fee subscription option to cut costs for underserved, underinsured populations.
“For too long, the cost of health care has been a barrier for millions of Americans, preventing them from getting the care that they need,” he said during his presentation. “… The urgent care market is highly competitive. However, Quick-N-Out has several clear advantages, including leveraging the idea of direct primary care which is the future of health care.”
Kosovskiy, who grew up in a family of health care workers, said health care equity is an issue he’s been thinking about since high school and has only grown more concerned with over time. He hopes to be part of finding solutions.
“My time at Roanoke has also helped me immensely when it comes to thinking about the meaning of community and how I can make that part of what I do,” he said after the event, explaining the calling he feels to aid others. “We do R House here and other service projects. It’s a supportive campus. People promote the importance of contributing to your community.”
The Pitch wrapped up with a dinner for participants at Mac and Bob’s. This was the 5th annual iteration of the competition. The prize pool divvied up a total of $2,500 among the four entries. The final results were:
- First Place: “Quick-N-Out” by Andy Kosovskiy ’25
- Second Place: “A Memory and Lens” by Janaé Henry ’23
- Third Place (Tie): “Nine Tier Ninja” by Victoria Butler ’23, Julianne Holmes ’23, Allie Talish ’23, Makayla Trent ’23 and Paige Shaika ’23; and “WatchMe” by Gavin Donlevy ’26, Clara Sherman ’26, Davin Stevenson ’24, Dominic McCombs ’26, Marcus Morgan ’26 and Laura McNamara ’24
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