On Oct. 26, the Get Seeded live pitch event was held in the Lassonde Studios lobby on the University of Utah campus, where eight different teams presented their ideas to students in the crowd. These teams were competing for the top three spots. The top two teams would be awarded a $1,500 grant to use for their business idea, and the third team would be awarded $900.

The selection process for this event is very competitive, said Michael Sager, the Get Seeded co-director, and only about half of the people who apply for a Get Seeded grant are allowed to pitch their idea at this live event.

“We’re screening about 15-plus pitches just to come into zoom pitch night,” Sager said. “We’ll only select a small amount. We try and keep it at eight or less for an event like tonight.”

The winners are decided by student votes, with two main components being looked at to decide the top three teams: customer validation and milestone. Customer validation means the presenter talks about who wants the product and how they know, while milestone refers to the presenter talking about the next stage in developing their idea.

The Pitches

The first person to pitch was Hay Soe, a senior at the U majoring in entrepreneurship and philosophy, presenting his business idea Pax-Amare. His company revolves around creating relaxing fragrances for anyone suffering with extreme stress, drawing inspiration from his culture.

“America is 20% more stressed than the global average,” Soe said. “We are bombarded with negative news, social media, work and school. So the solution is simple. Going back to my cultural roots in Thailand Burma, [they] use an herbal medicine formula.”

Soe then presented the benefits of his idea and talked about his next step: to enhance his product and get it ready for launch.

“I will say our key differentiator is it’s 100% natural, it’s portable, so diffuser on the go, and it’s long-lasting,” Soe said. “The milestone I’m pursuing is user-testing, to test whether or not users will actually buy it, not just say they want it.”

Another student who pitched their idea at the event was Sarah Rinderknecht, a senior at the U studying ballet and accounting, presenting the app Savorit. She explained this app is designed for people who struggle with cooking, but don’t want to constantly rely on takeout food.

“You swipe on recipes like you would swipe on Tinder, and then it’s gonna compile a list of recipes that have similar ingredients,” Rinderknecht said. “So then it’s going to compile that list of recipes for the week and the ingredients, and you can mark favorites, and you can mark when you cook the recipe and [have] completed it.”

After showing an example of how the app works, Rinderknecht explained why her team’s app is better than typical meal kit services, helping people eat healthier without breaking the bank.

“The main problem that we identified in surveying people is just that it’s too expensive, [with meal kit services costing] between $8 and $12 per serving,” Rinderknecht said. “We come in at $5 per serving, which is massive savings for college students like us.”

Before the event, Rinderknecht said that these events help her get used to pitching in front of big crowds, and provides great experience needed for later in her career.

“It’s a great experience for us, and it really helps us polish our pitch to just get to practice it in front of people,” Rinderknecht said. “It’s a great opportunity and exposure.”

Results

The top two winners of the event were Breezy Ski, a company making heated bags for ski boots, and Savorit, both winning $1,500. One company that makes gym equipment that won’t strain wrists, called Kratos, won $900. A bonus award was given to the company Bodyguard, promoting a system that would record audio for the last five hours on your cellular device, giving them $1,500 to continue designing this system.

According to Sager, this event is all about growth, and he loves watching people improve their ideas and their presentations through the Get Seeded program.

“Watching them go from a C to an A+ presentation and seeing that growth and development is what I myself truly loved,” Sager said.

The next pitch event will be sometime in November, with applications for grants due Nov. 1.

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@steviechrony