SUNY Oneonta-Hartwick Pitch Event Brings Entrepreneurs Together

Twenty-one SUNY Oneonta and Hartwick College students faced off in a start-up pitch competition that was as much about passion as it was about business acumen.

Held in SUNY Oneonta's Morris Conference Center on May 6 and judged by a panel of local business leaders, the inaugural Oneonta-Hartwick Student Start-up Challenge and Pitch Competition marked the first business pitch competition jointly executed by the two institutions. The event drew inspiration from similar competitions that SUNY Oneonta students have participated in both on and off campus, including a global fashion merchandising competition known as ESRAP and a Business Idea Pitch Competition held by SUNY Oneonta's Entrepreneurship Club. The competition drew budding entrepreneurs from a diverse range of disciplines, including Business Administration, Fashion and Textiles, Biochemistry, Mathematics, Communication Studies and Music Industry.

Ideas were presented by both solo entrepreneurs and teams of three to four, bringing 21 students together to present 14 different business pitches. Students from both Hartwick and SUNY Oneonta worked on their pitches with faculty through independent course studies, the Entrepreneurship Club and Adam Chaloeicheep, who was the inaugural entrepreneur-in-residence for both institutions.

"Entrepreneurship, in my experience, is a powerful bridge: as you grapple with what to build--riding the emotional highs and lows, pivoting and searching for proof that an idea deserves to exist--the road can feel lonely," said Chaloeicheep. "Sharing that journey with peers fuels motivation and mutual support. A joint competition would tighten the bond between our campuses while showing the rest of the state that bright, innovative minds are thriving here. Watching teams from both schools pitch--side by side and head-to-head--captures exactly the collaborative spirit we want to cultivate."

Read the full story: https://suny.oneonta.edu/news-events/oneonta-hartwick-pitch-event-brings-entrepreneurs-together