Sixth annual youth pitch competition March 13

Thursday, January 16, 2025 at 6:00 AM

By Wes Dehne

Student entrepreneurs of Rochester, Tippecanoe Valley and Caston compete March 13 at the Geneva Center for cash prizes sponsored by Fulton County REMC.

Three area high schools will be represented at the upcoming sixth annual First Pitch by FEDCO, where six entrepreneurial teams will compete for cash prizes sponsored by Fulton County REMC.

Participating schools include Caston, Tippecanoe Valley and Rochester.

From 9-11:30 a.m. March 13 at the Geneva Center, 5282 N. Old U.S. 31, Rochester, the six team finalists – two from each school – will have seven minutes to present their business pitch to a panel of three judges.

Business advisors from the North Central Indiana Small Business Development Center have been assisting students with their pitches.

Each pitch requires students to convey their business name, a description of their product or service, what made the team interested in that kind of business, why their business is feasible and why it would be a success. Teams are also required to identify their business' competitive edge and how it would make money, with a focus on target customers, pricing, costs and projected profitability.

The judges will then have six minutes to ask questions of each participant.

Beginning with the inaugural event in 2020, FEDCO, through its BizGro program, has coordinated this Fulton County entrepreneurial opportunity with the school systems.

The event is open to the public, and there is no cost for admission.

Fulton County REMC is sponsoring the event again this year by offering $1,500 in cash prizes to the finalists. Prizes will be awarded as follows: First place $500; second place $400; third place $300; fourth, fifth and sixth places $100.

"The goal of the event is to expose the students to the entrepreneurial process, not necessarily with the view that they have to start a business from this experience, but that they gained valuable insights about how they could launch a business," BizGro Coordinator Amy Beechy said. "The First Pitch is that natural progression from their work with the school's entrepreneurial instruction into the next phase of a solid business proposal."

Participating students wishing to launch their business will have access to FEDCO's business resources, such as business planning classes, workshops, low-interest loan funds and business counseling.