Students pitch business ideas at first BraveHawk Entrepreneur Challenge

Jo Hayes (right) earned first place in the BraveHawk Entrepreneur Challenge at UNC Pembroke. Hayes is pictured with UNCP Provost Diane Prusank

PEMBROKE – Jo Hayes enjoys giving back to youth in his hometown of Peanut City, Virginia.

For the last two summers, the UNC Pembroke senior has hosted the Hayes Stacking Dayz Youth Football Camp, bringing college athletes and coaches together to help local players develop their skills on the field. But Hayes has bigger dreams for his camp to impact the next generation beyond football, so he pitched his idea for an expanded program, the Stacking Dayz Initiative, at UNCP’s first BraveHawk Entrepreneur Challenge on Wednesday, April 3.

When it was over, Hayes earned the competition’s top prize of $1,000 to further develop his idea. “I’m thankful and grateful for this experience,” said Hayes, a mass communication major whose expanded initiative will include workshops on financial literacy, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and other essential life skills.

“Answering the judges’ questions felt a little like being on ‘Shark Tank,’ but it gave me more confidence to keep growing this program.” Hosted by the Thomas College of Business and Economics (TCOBE), the challenge gave 21 budding entrepreneurs from any academic program at UNCP a chance to present their ideas to a panel of judges and answer questions. Dr. Mohamed Djerdjouri, dean of the TCOBE, said the event provides real-world experience so students know what it’s like to pitch a business idea to a bank or potential investors.

“In professional schools like ours, experiential learning is a big deal,” Djerdjouri said. “Half of business is book knowledge. The rest is professional skills and confidence in yourself. An experience like this builds that confidence and gives students an edge as they start their career.”

Tasiana Locklear-Gibson from nearby Maxton uses a wheelchair and has developed an idea for a customizable bookbag with a canopy to protect people with mobility issues from rain and other natural elements.

A senior in accounting, economics and finance, Locklear-Gibson took second place in the competition and $750 in seed money. She’s looking forward to taking her idea from concept to reality after fielding the judges’ questions. “I think this was the jumpstart for my product to be as big as it can be,” Locklear-Gibson said. “It’s still a concept, but this experience has provided me with motivating and inspiring energy. That’s what’s going to give it the start it needs.”

The competition’s five judges came from the TCOBE faculty and local business community: Dr. Scott Cohen, assistant professor; Sheila Harris, lecturer; Dr. Michael Barbera, adjunct faculty; Tim Brooks, president of HealthKeeperz; and Victoria Carter, disaster recovery coordinator for the Town of Pembroke. Djerdjouri wants the challenge to become an annual event that helps launch promising business ideas.

“Our goal is to pair students who have a great idea with a faculty member who will help them develop a business plan they can use to get funding. We also want to find students with promising business ideas and get them engaged with our Thomas Entrepreneurship Hub to help them grow their idea.”