During its first year of operation, The Pitch platform began to hear rumblings of incredible entrepreneurial activity happening on college campuses across the country. Our curiosity was quickly piqued, and we decided to check it out.
We hosted an online contest called #CampusPitch, calling for any and all undergraduate female entrepreneurs to submit a 30-second pitch video telling us why her business or product should be introduced to the SheKnows audience.
What we discovered was quite remarkable. We received submissions from across the country, and were blown away by the drive of the entrants and by the quality and diversity of their products. Schools like NYU and Babson have launched incredible programs dedicated entirely toward offering their students as many entrepreneurial avenues as possible.
After much debate, we were able to narrow down the submissions to choose four winners.
The winning group — Hediya Sizar of Bring on the Books, Erin Winick of Sci Chic, Abby Lyall of MyDrop and Emily Levy of PICCPerfect — are truly a cut above the rest. They are inventors and innovators who are changing the technology, health and education landscapes as we know them.
And the best part? They run their businesses with the purpose of changing the world for the better.
The winners won a trip to NYC to join the SheKnows community at WeFestival, a premier women’s entrepreneurship conference held at One World Trade Center, and a filming day in the studio at SheKnows, where they each had the chance to film a Pitch video for their product or company.
We are excited and honored to introduce you to the group of women represented in the videos below. They are a wonderful group, and they filled us with immense hope for a bright future for female entrepreneurship. Meet our #CampusPitch winners!
First, meet Hediya Sizar from NYU. Her mission is to use technology to bring the joy of books to everyone. She started Bring on the Books, an app that connects institutions with access to large quantities of books to people and places who cannot get them. Support her cause to spread the inspiration that reading brings our kids.
Next up is Emily Levy from Babson. Her company, PICCPerfect, which sells a line of beautiful, spunky PICC line covers (and more!), was inspired by her fight against acute Lyme disease. She wanted other patients undergoing similar treatments to feel proud and beautiful when going through their medical journeys. Emily also speaks out around the country about medical rights and Lyme disease.
Now, meet the engineer of the group: Erin Winick from the University of Florida. Erin began her company, Sci Chic, to bring fashion to the world of science and engineering. The jewelry her company creates is all based on scientific signs and patterns, and is created through 3-D printing and laser cutting. Her mission is to bring more young women into the field of science — which she knows to be beautiful and fun for all.
Our final winner is Abby Lyall from NYU, who founded MyDrop. Abby noticed that there was a large demand for social media help from companies today that are rushing to develop their social presences. She also knew that there were many high schoolers who needed to fulfill community service or work hours in order to graduate. So, she created an app that connects start-ups in need of social media assistance with young men and women who are looking for work to help them finish school. We love that she is harnessing the power of Gen Z and assisting in their entrance to the workforce.
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