By Lacie Blankenship
In late October, the Center for Entrepreneurship (C4E) hosted the first Firestarter Pitches of the academic year.
Stacie Pawlicki
“The Firestarter Pitch Competition is an excellent opportunity for student entrepreneurs to practice pitching their business concepts in a low-pressure environment,” says Stacie Pawlicki (BA ‘08), Director of the C4E. “Not only do students receive valuable feedback, but after the pitch competition, they have the chance to continue connecting with the judges in informal Zoom breakouts.”
Firestarters are intended to be an empowering learning experience where students walk away with constructive feedback to improve their business and pitch strategy and have the chance to win funding.
“The most valuable part of the experience isn’t the opportunity to win $500, although that’s a great incentive, but rather the feedback that student entrepreneurs receive from the judges,” says Pawlicki.
Pitches are made to a panel of Vanderbilt alumni entrepreneurs and investors that are excited to help students navigate the early stages of entrepreneurship while reinforcing the friendly nature of the event. Judges for the October Firestarter were Amanda Stone (BS ‘11), CEO of A&M Agency, Anna Myint (MBA ‘20), Co-Owner of the International Market in Nashville, Cale Genenbacher (MBA ‘16), CEO and Founder of LOGE Co., and Ethan Fedida (BA ‘12), Co-Founder of Campfire Group.
Fanfix
The winner for October’s Firestarter Pitches was Simon Pompan (BA ‘22) Founder, and Co-CEO of an exclusive entertainment platform, Fanfix. Founded in 2020, Fanfix allows content creators “to better monetize their platform” by giving fans exclusive content access via subscription.
In addition to walking away with feedback on how to improve their pitch and business idea, the C4E hopes that student entrepreneurs feel more connected and confident after the Firestarter. “Community is essential to entrepreneurship, so our goal [at the C4E] is to create connection through opportunities like the Firestarter; we want student participants to walk away feeling more connected, whether that be with other students or the judges,” says Pawlicki.
“The beginning stages of building a business can trigger fear, so we hope that through this opportunity, students feel heard and can increase their confidence for the next time they pitch their business,” she adds.
The November Firestarter Pitch event will take place on November 15th at 5:30 PM CT. Pre-registration is required, and spots are limited; interested students should contact the C4E at c4e@vanderbilt.edu. Moving forward, the C4E will host a quarterly Firestarter pitches.
