Judges pick six ECU student entrepreneur teams

And then there were six. The ninth annual Gene T. Aman Pirate Challenge is one step closer to crowning a champion after its second round pitch competition with the Miller School of Entrepreneurship at East Carolina University.

Sam Dewar of Carolina Cleaning Boys presents to the judges during the second round of the Gene T. Aman Pirate Challenge.

Ten teams were in the bright lights and in front of multiple cameras, judges and a packed ballroom, working to show that their business was worthy enough to compete in the third and final round.

“I can’t say enough about our Pirate entrepreneurs,” said David Mayo, director of the Aman Pirate Challenge. “Not only are they polished, but the variety of business opportunities that were pitched shows how creative and innovative our students are.”

Moving on to the final round are:

• CarriOn is a roadkill cleanup and recycling service that aims to reuse the animal byproducts when possible, like leather.
• Clinic Wire is an AI voice agent for automated doctor’s office calls while ensuring federal privacy law compliance.
• MingleMaps is a dating app that allows users to meet people where they are and in real time.
• Simple Greek is an app for Greek life organizations and clubs that allows members to be able to do everything on one platform, from scheduling events to paying dues.
• Huddle Wealth is a financial services company designed for student athletes in the era of name, image and likeness (NIL).
• Carolina Cleaning Boys is a power washing company that specializes in surface cleaning, soft washing and community engagement.

Each team had five minutes to pitch its company or business idea to the judges. Then all 10 teams lined up in front of the five judges to take questions for 15 minues. During this question-and-answer portion, like in NBC’s “The Voice,” the judges asked if they could coach the student entrepreneurs to help them for the final round. Once five teams were chosen, a popular vote from the audience chose the sixth group, which was Mingle Maps. Mayo will coach them. Mingle Maps is captained by ECU engineering student Matthew Joyner.

Taylor Greene passes out information to the judges about her business idea, CarriOn, during the second round of the APC.

“This is one of the most diverse groups of majors that we have had moving into the finals,” Mayo said. “We’re also very pleased with the business stage.”

Mayo said of the six finalists, one is in business, two have the prototype completed and are in testing, and the remaining three are in the idea stage. There are eight unique majors with the students representing five of ECU’s colleges: College of Business, College of Engineering and Technology, College of Fine Arts and Communication, College of Health and Human Performance and the Honors College.

“The next two months are critical for these teams,” said Dr. Joshua Aaron, director of the Miller School of Entrepreneurship and the J. Fielding Miller Distinguished Professor. “They will need to work with their coaches to improve their businesses and fine-tune their pitches as the competition will be strong in that final round.”

The students whose businesses and ideas didn’t make it to the third round have an opportunity to work with Keith Hudson, the entrepreneur-in-residence at the Miller School of Entrepreneurship. He will help students solidify their ideas to create a business or enter next year’s APC.

The final round of the APC is April 15 and will feature more than $240,000 in cash and in-kind services.

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