Judson to introduce contestants for 2nd 'CREATE Shark Tank' Nov. 19
Five Judson University students will participate in the second "CREATE Shark Tank" event, which will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, in the Thulin Performance Hall in the Thompson Center.
"CREATE 2015" is the brainchild of Judson University student, Ethan Adams, under the guidance of School of Business and Professional Studies Department chair Michelle Kilbourne. The first Judson Shark Tank debuted in April to much praise.
The five students vying for one of three prizes ($1,000, $500 and $250) in this second Judson Shark Tank event will be:
• Ethan Adams, senior, of Springfield, Ill., (communications, marketing, and management major) and • Zachary Conover, junior, of Smyrna, Tenn., (communications major).
• John Ashworth, freshman, international student from Amsterdam (architecture major).
• Stephanie Kleczynski, junior, of Huntley (marketing major).
• Sophia Randall, junior, of Caledonia, Ill., (marketing major).
• Rebekah Tabb, senior, of Lebanon, Mo., (marketing major).
November's competition will focus on pitching an idea instead of development of a business plan. In September, two courses at Judson University required idea submissions into the Judson Shark Tank competition.
In October, all competitors attended a pitch workshop hosted by Katie Sowa from Future Founders (futurefounders.com/katiesowa/).
Two days later, the competitors participated in the first Entrepreneurial Open Forum, in which the students pitched their ideas to more than 75 students, faculty and staff with the goal of securing votes.
From that forum vote, the five ideas receiving the most votes were selected to advance into the final stage of the competition on Nov. 19.
All finalists will consult with Sowa one final time before pitching their ideas at the finale.
Adams, a student in one of the courses requiring idea submission, received one of the top five votes. In response to this turn of events, Adams has transitioned his planning and hosting role to Judson sophomore Abby Jungles. "It is cool to see how it is all coming together and I am thrilled to be part of it," says Jungles.
The students will pitch their ideas to five judges who have a strong desire to develop both leaders and their entrepreneurial ideas. The judges include:
• Nate Chang, finance director for Goodcity, a social entrepreneur incubator with more than 50 start-ups, and it is a subsidiary of this competition's main sponsor - Re:source Global. Chang is also the managing partner for CP Partners, an accounting firm servicing churches and non-profit organizations. Additionally, he teaches accounting and finance at Judson University.
• Ben Glunz, is founder and CEO of Anguleris Technologies, and co-founder of the coffee shop, Jerry's Café, at Judson University. He is a 2010 Judson graduate and chair of the Alumni Association.
• Gene Salvadalena is executive director of Home of the Sparrow, which helps homeless women and their children in McHenry, become self-sufficient.
• Kay Teeter is an independent senior sales director with Mary Kay Cosmetics. Her business ranks in the top 1 percent of the $5 billion organization. She is also completing her fifth year as chairwoman of the Business Development Commission and was a village trustee in Carpentersville for 10 years.
• Seth Temko is an entrepreneur, marketer and technologist that has worked with companies in all phases of business growth. He has been a part of or advised more than 20 start-ups.
The addition of individuals with social entrepreneurial interests is, in part, in response to Judson student Briana Williams' idea for a fair-trade store pitched in April's Shark Tank competition. Williams' Just World Good store opens on Friday, Nov. 20, at Judson University's Lindner Tower. She will provide an update about her new venture while the judges deliberate during the finale competition.
The Judson Shark Tank competition is free and open to the public. Visit judsonu.edu.