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Pepperdine Business Plan Competition Finds its Six Finalists


Judges for the 2014 Pepperdine University Business Plan Competition fast pitch elimination round chose six student entrepreneur proposals to advance to the finals on Saturday, March 22. ICANN executive Dennis Chang (EMBA ’94), a Graziadio Board of Visitors (BOV) member; serial entrepreneur George Georgallides (MBA ’11), a partner at product development agency Curious Ventures and BOV member Bob Mosbaugh (PKE MBA ’05), executive vice president at Honeywell Safes & Door Locks / LHLP, heard 18 90-second pitches from business students and a School of Law student; nearly all for startups that are more than paper ideas and actively being pursued. The six pitches moving onto to the final round, requiring a full 20-minute detailed presentation and Q&A include:

  • A mobile platform that connect customers to local businesses, providing real-time 2-way text-based communication to negotiate orders and deals (Peter Hwang, Peter C. Jang)
  • A web-based portfolio platform to help high school athletes connect with university and professional sports recruiters (Annie Macomber)
  • A startup that markets an original adjustable wedge for installing doors and windows (Arianne Hefling)
  • An online delivery service connecting California’s emerging home-cook community to hungry customers (Marco Garcia)
  • A video game development startup for online games that dynamically scale to the player’s individual skill level instead of pitting players (who may vary in skill level) against one another (Laura Colvin)
  • A startup marketing stackable, collapsible and environmentally-friendly shoeboxes for your closet (Ara Krikorian)

Many of competitors were students of Dr. Larry Cox, director of Graziadio’s Entrepreneurship Program, which has generated more than 90 new businesses over the last five years. The 2014 Pepperdine University Business Plan Competition final presentations will be held at the West Los Angeles Campus in Room 333, Saturday, March 22, beginning at 9 a.m. Lunch is served. The first place will win $10,000 and the chance to represent Pepperdine at the California Dreamin' Competition for a shot at $230,000 in prize money and equity investment. The 2014 Pepperdine University Business Plan Competition is sponsored by the Graziadio Family Foundation, Burton Morgan Foundation and the Pepperdine School of Law’s Palmer Center for Entrepreneurship and the Law.