Kelby Zimmerman and Maddox Lambert hit a home run at their home base.
The winners of the Nebraska Wesleyan pitch contest on April 29 — for their business Premier Umpires, took home $1,500, among other perks, for their business as part of the event that brought five teams showcasing their business ideas in front of a panel of local business leaders.
Zimmerman, a sport management major at NWU, and Lambert, an accounting major, topped a talented field of finalists that advanced to the finals from a preliminary round in early March.
Beyond cash prizes, participants gained hands-on experience in business planning, public speaking and problem solving — skills that prepare NWU students in all fields for success beyond the classroom.
“As an entrepreneur myself, I can recognize that you don't have to be my age to come up with a great idea. They have it in them. They see what's out there, and they experience problems themselves,” said Sarah Spitsen, director of NWU’s Philip S. Mullin Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program. “So it's a really rewarding experience.”
Pitches focused on multiple areas: a calendar app for women, a platform to consolidate and organize communication apps for student organizations, a management app for small business contractors, and financial and psychological study abroad platform.
Zimmerman and Lambert won for Premier Umpires, a business that trains and provides umpires for youth baseball leagues.
“Wesleyan is a great place for entrepreneurs. Sarah (Spitzen) does a great job running the I & E department,” Zimmerman said. “We’ve had frequent meetings just to talk more about our business and how we can grow from here. She’s helped us with connections as well, and ideas that we’re using right now that have helped us grow.”
In addition to winning $1,500, Zimmerman and Lambert were awarded a one-hour consultation with Baird Holm law firm, and a one-hour meeting with Move Venture Capital.
Second-place finishers Gracey Smith and Ella Mahaffy won $750 for their app idea, Circa, and third-place finishers Bruce Archambault and Jake Rhodes won $500 for their app, High Country Trust.
The pitch contest put a cap on a day full of celebrating the NWU community’s academic accomplishments during Nebraska Wesleyan’s Student Symposium.
More than 200 students gave presentations, discussed internships, presented gallery talks, and performed recitals all over campus April 29, and the day concluded with the pitch contest, the WESPYs, the Flintlock launch party, and the NWU Theatre Film Festival.
There were four symposium award winners:
Social Impact: Tessa Hurlburt, for “K-12 Sex Education in Nebraska”
Human Experience: Grace Wendel for “Misuse of Scripture: Refuting LCMS Doctrine Regarding the Ordination of Women”
Most Creative: Adalynn O’Connor for “Identity: The Modification of Latin American Art”
Applied Research: Amarachi Chidi-Uneze for “Optimization of Natural Dye Extraction from Avocado Pits and Peels: Effects of Solid Solvent Ratio and Extraction Techniques”
Humanities Writing Contest winners were Anik Stephen, Ashton Barlow, Murslen Mudhafar, Shoko Litulumar and Jeremy Wallace.
Quinlyn Hunt won the Boatright Award in poetry, while Morrell Ellwood finished second. AJ Andrews was first in the Art category with Michele Zephier second, and Brennen Weidner finished first in Prose while Anika Stephen was second.
Weidner and Semhar Hailesellassie were awarded the Ruth Meyer Scholarship; Hailesellassie also won the Stanfield Scholar Award and the Carlos Camacho Humorous Writing Prize.