Chandler-Gilbert Gilbert College hosted its annual Big Pitch Competition Nov. 12 at the college’s new Entrepreneurship Center, an innovative space designed to support both students and the community as they develop and grow business ideas, on the Pecos campus. Eight talented student entrepreneurs took the stage to pitch their business ideas to a panel of distinguished judges, competing for $4,000 in cash prizes. Their creativity, confidence and strong entrepreneurial spirit made this year’s showcase one of the strongest yet. Participating students presented a five-minute pitch to a panel of community judges about their ideas for a small business, which must be able to be implemented and running within six months.
Joshua Faba took home the first-place prize of $1,750, plus the $500 Audience Choice Award for his small business idea, CommUnity CCL. CommUnity CCL is a platform connecting Maricopa Community College students with campus events, local opportunities aligned with their interests and a way to reduce loneliness by empowering users to build confidence and socialize.
Antony Pile and AJ Jakubowski finished in second place, winning $1,250, for their Curbside Cowboys. Curbside Cowboys aims to help older adults and HOA communities by moving dumpsters to and from the curb on collection days, keeping dumpsters cleaned and helping with bulk pickup when needed.
Sloane Chapman earned third place and $500 for June’s Craftique, which creates custom pressed-flower bookmarks featuring quotes and a unique QR code linking to a special song or video, helping customers capture memories in a creative, personalized way.
Gracey Walcheske with The Gracey Edit, Sydney Vo with The Doodle Booth, Sam Berry with Quotebook Apparel and Nancy Lambert with Mix & Mingle Mobile Bar Co. also participated in this year's competition. Local business experts Kimberley Erev, Jennifer Wilkins, Brinton Colburn and Stuart Preston judged the student presentations.
All students involved showcased impressive creativity, bold ideas and innovative thinking throughout the competition. CGCC’s Entrepreneurship Center proved to be the perfect venue for the event, as it is designed to create valuable opportunities for students and community members and help advance their entrepreneurial goals.