Vanderbilt held the annual SEC Student Pitch Competition at the South End Zone Commodore Club on Oct. 16. Earlier in the day, students from all 16 schools in the SEC pitched their business ideas in a private session to a panel of judges in a “Shark Tank” style in hopes of receiving funding to realize their idea. In the evening, the top three teams pitch to a panel of judges for final evaluation and the chance to receive a portion of the $25,000 prize fund.
The judges, some of whom attended SEC schools, work with major entrepreneurial ecosystem partners in the Mid-South and are involved with corporate, venture investment and innovation fields. The event was presented by the SEC and hosted by the Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University Athletics and Vanderbilt Innovation Corps. Vanderbilt won the competition last year.
A previous event before the finals that featured Vanderbilt students was not open to the public.
The final event began with opening remarks from leaders who helped organize the event, including representatives from the Owen School of Management, Vanderbilt University Athletics, the Southeastern Conference, the Innovation Corps and more.
Thomas Steenburgh, dean of the Owen School of Management, introduced the event by emphasizing how it represented innovation across the conference.
“This pitch competition and what we’re doing with the SEC among all these schools is getting people’s ideas together,” Steenburgh said. “We have programs going on for undergraduate students and graduate students and we like to bring people together. To have pitch competitions where we can see all the ideas in one place is wonderful.”
Charleson Bell, director of the National Science Foundation Mid-South I-Corps Hub and Vanderbilt’s outgoing SEC Entrepreneurship Directors Council representative, also gave remarks and said the competition being hosted at Vanderbilt represented the school’s capacity to showcase innovation through unique collaborations.
“Hosting the competition here shows the unique bridge that Vanderbilt has between athletics and academia and how important entrepreneurship can be as that bridge,” Bell said. “It’s great to see all the SEC schools be connected and come here and have that showcase of what all these students are building across the region.”
After opening remarks, the top three teams — representing the University of Arkansas, Auburn University and the University of Mississippi — pitched their products in a five-minute presentation followed by a five-minute Q-and-A session. Sophia Aulisio from Auburn University pitched enhanced protective sports equipment; Julien Bourgeois from the University of Mississippi pitched an AI-based athlete training tool; and Lance Lockwood and Joseph Hobbs from the University of Arkansas pitched a medical technology device.
Lockwood and Hobbs won first place with their proposed company, Altaris Medtech, which aims to alleviate strep throat testing challenges with proprietary medical digital tools. Hobbs said they appreciated the opportunity to present their company.
“Especially hearing all the accolades [Vanderbilt] has and its prestigiousness in coming here, we’re very grateful to Vanderbilt. Being able to compete against all the other SEC schools was very thrilling,” Hobbs said.
Senior Aditya Bhatt, who attended the event, said he enjoyed hearing about the new ideas students proposed. He found it interesting that the competition was held in the newly constructed South End Zone.
“It was good to see cool ideas from people across SEC schools and enjoy the company of other students while doing it. I think it definitely showcases Vanderbilt being at its pinnacle when it comes to sports. It’s hard to separate the SEC from the fact that it’s a sports league, so it was cool to be on the inside of the South End Zone, and I understand why it was hosted here,” Bhatt said.
