Pilot Pitch workshops upcoming for aspiring entrepreneurs with a business idea

Pilot Pitch workshops upcoming for aspiring entrepreneurs with a business idea

SHREVEPORT - Pilot Pitch, an entrepreneurship competition where LSUS students present their business idea, has gained steam on campus since being reinstated after the COVID-19 pandemic.

But after 2024 LSUS winner Khaled Saif went on to claim second place at Louisiana-Monroe's Pelican Cup - and its $25,000 cash prize - LSUS students are all ears. The grand prize winner took home $50,000.

A throng of LSUS students attended in-person and virtual information sessions to enter the 2025 Pilot Pitch competition.

"I'd say there's more momentum for Pilot Pitch earlier in the process," said Dr. Mike McDaniel, an assistant professor of business who directs Pilot Pitch. "Students are beginning to realize that there's bigger money out there beyond our own competition, but that this is a great way to refine your idea and get valuable feedback from business owners in the area."

Interested students of all majors can attend the first entrepreneurial workshop Sept. 24 in the Davis Business Engagement Center. An in-person session will be held at 11 a.m. with a Zoom session held at 5:30 p.m.

Students declare their intent to compete by Oct. 1 through the LSUS Moodle website, where they can also find general information about Pilot Pitch.

A second business workshop takes place Oct. 8.

As students develop and refine their idea, business mentors assist in the creation of a business plan, a one-page canvas lean, a summary of financial projections and a pitch deck.

Separate divisions exist for graduate and undergraduate students, and students of all majors are eligible to compete.

"We welcome students of all backgrounds," McDaniel said. "We especially like to see science and biology majors bring their ideas to the table, and we add the business expertise.

"Customers don't buy products, they buy solutions to life's problems."

Students can submit pitches individually or form a team.

Saif, the 2024 winner, developed an app called "UDoIt," where parents and children practice "play moves." Cell phone cameras capture the human movements and compare them to the app's animated characters, which score the accuracy of the human movement.

Undergraduate winner Shayna Schexnayder noticed her hometown of Lafayette lacked an indoor sports facility where sports team from youth all the way to high school could escape the weather or the heat. She proposed building an indoor facility where members could easily transform the space to accommodate everything from soccer and football to baseball and softball batting cages.

The Pilot Pitch winner in both the graduate and undergraduate division takes home $3,000 with second place paying out $1,000 and third place $500.

Xzayvier Ford-Smith, the 2024 second-place undergraduate finisher with his self-improvement app LifeQuest, is back in the competition after joining Saif's team for the Pelican Cup pitch this past spring.

"I had a phenomenal experience in Pilot Pitch, and I still talk regularly to my mentor from last year," said Smith, a finance major. "There were an incredible group of judges who offered great insight on our products and business plans."

The Entrepreneurial Accelerator Program, a northwest Louisiana organization that helps launch and mentor small businesses, collaborates with LSUS to orchestrate the workshops and competition. EAP is part of BRF, an economic development organization aiming to diversify and grow the region's economy.