UK Teams Perform Well at 'KY Pitch' Entrepreneurial Competition

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 2, 2019) — Several teams representing University of Kentucky performed very well in the recent KY Pitch competition hosted by Centre College in Danville.

The KY Pitch Business Plan/Model Competition is designed to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship through engaging students from Kentucky’s postsecondary colleges and universities and providing an opportunity for them to develop and pursue their business ideas. The competition rewards business models and plans that are judged by an independent panel as most innovative, complete, and most likely to result in successful ventures that would create new jobs for Kentuckians.

UK participants emerged from Bootcamp programs conducted by the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship (VACE), part of Gatton College of Business and Economics.

GenomEqs, with team members representing the Gatton College and the Gluck Equine Research Center, earned first place in the Business Model track, bringing home a cash prize of $5,000. LeeCarol Greenwell, Shavahn Loux and Francesca Rovera all are part of GenomEqs.

A $5,000 award for second place went to HandPrint in the Business Plan track. Team members Kevin Richardson and Soroosh Torabi both are with UK College of Engineering.

Pouch Protection, with Chris Greene from the College of Engineering, brought home the third place prize of $1,500 in the Business Model track.

“VACE staff are so proud of these teams and the terrific progress which they have made over the past year,” said Warren Nash, executive director of the Von Allmen Center. “The success of these teams is a testament to the value which VACE’s Bootcamp 1.0 and 2.0 programs bring to UK and local communities.”