Published April 14, 2023
MONROE, LA 鈥� The 2nd Annual Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup Awards Luncheon will be held Friday, April 21
at 11:30 a.m. at Bayou Pointe Event Center on the 网曝门 campus. Tickets are on sale
now for $100 for the general public and $50 for students. Visit www.ulm.edu/pelicancup for ticket and sponsorship information.听
Open to all majors with cash prizes totaling $61,000, The Entrepreneurship Pelican
Cup is the premiere business plan competition for Louisiana. It provides an opportunity
for students to develop critical thinking, team building, presentation, and other
soft skills which are all important to career growth.听听The goal is to inspire participants and the community to think entrepreneurially by
rewarding creativity, professionalism, and hard work.听听This year鈥檚 competition was
open to undergraduate and graduate students of 网曝门, VCOM, Grambling State, Louisiana
Tech, Northwestern State, Centenary College, and LSU-Shreveport.听
Eighteen teams submitted a written, formal business plan judged by business owners and investors.
Six finalists were chosen for in-person oral presentations, held April 4th at The Hangar on the 网曝门 campus. A 90-second Elevator Pitch competition with an individual
prize of $2,000, will be held live during the luncheon.听听
This year鈥檚 cash prizes include:听
First Place听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听$25,000听
Second Place听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听$15,000听
Third Place听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听$10,000听
Elevator Pitch Winner听 听 $2,000 听
First, Second, and Third Place faculty advisors to receive $3,000.听听听
Finalist Teams听
E-Com Expert (网曝门) 鈥� Team Leader: Dharmendra Sharma Team Members: Prabin Basnet, Suman Rai Advisor: Jun Yu, Ph.D.听
Explore Mate (网曝门) 鈥� Team Leader: Thalama Malla Team Members: Prajwol Pachhai, Ramesh Ranabhat, Manish Katuwal Advisor: Joyce Zhou, Ph. D.听
Immerse AR (网曝门) 鈥� Team Leader: Rohan Upadhyay Team Members: Nicholas Soirez, Suruchi Bista, George Khawas, Supreme Dallakoti听Advisor: Blake Farman, Ph. D.听
GLOBOWL (网曝门) - Team Leader: Janet Stopka Team Members: Olaia Becerril Alvarez, Victoria Abrams, Garrett Kahmann Advisor: Veronika Humphries, JD, LLM;听
Homeward Bound (网曝门/LA Tech) - Team Leader: Benson Kinney Team Member: Brett McGuffee Advisor: Elizabeth Ragland, DBA听
Rise & Rotate (Northwestern State) - Team Leader: Matthew Gamble Team Members: Hayden Stanley, Alexander Brown Advisor: Elizabeth Prejean, DBA听
Participating Teams听
PitchMe (网曝门) - Team Leader: Rohan Shrestha Team Members: Nishu Shrestha, Dinesh Chhantyal, Ashamsa Adhikari Advisor: Joyce Zhou, Ph. D. 听
EcoAg (网曝门) - Team Leader: Hanna Flynn Team Members: Nick Sciara, Prajal Prasai Advisor: Blair David听
Klotho (网曝门) - Team Leader: Pratyush Dulal Team Members: Swoyam Thapa, Abhiyan Singh, Prashant Tiwari, Shubrat Simkhada Advisor: Tawewoo Kim, Ph.D. 听
The Green Den (Grambling State) - Team Leader: Felix Johnson Team Members: Kobe Sutton, Dynasty Robinson, Mierra Simmons Advisor: Edwin Litolff, Ph.D.听
MyFixer (网曝门) - Team Leader: Bhetuwal Sagar Team Members: Niraj Shrestha, Nirajan Sangraula, David Basnet, Mahendra Koirala Advisor: Braden Watson听
Spotlight Local (网曝门) - Team Leader: Alisha Ghatane Team Members: Deepmala Bhomi, Prasansha Paudel Advisor: Joyce Zhou, Ph.D.听
Vizio-Air (Grambling State) - Team Leader: Sonelle Casimir Team Members: Shay-Ann Audain, Caesar Catin, Yohan Gregorie听Advisor: Prasanthi Sreekumari, Ph.D. 听
SKRIBE, LLC (网曝门) - Team Leader: Cameron Ashley Team Members: Julien Ferrington, Logan Rhodes Advisor: Arturo Rodriguez, DM听
Vox-AI (网曝门) - Team Leader: Sijan Malla Team Members: Pratik Maharjan, Prinsha Shrestha, Yana Paudel, Nigesh Byanjankar Advisor: Braden Watson听
ConnectED (网曝门) - Team Leader: Hamid Khan Team Members: Ghofrane Zaidi, Satish Baniya Advisor: Jun Yu, Ph.D.听
The TrueScan (Grambling State) - Team Leader: Jhada Carmel Team Members: Lungile Ntuli, Alesia Jackson, Nubia McLaughlin Advisor: Prasanthi Sreekumari, Ph.D.听
The cr锚perie (网曝门) - Team Leader: Charlotte Fourdraine Team Members: Annamarie Martin, Carli Grimes Advisor: Joyce Zhou, Ph.D听
Preliminary Judges听
Shane Middleton, M3 Accounting Services; Chap Breard, MOEbiz; Mary Linda McCann, Bank
of Oak Ridge; Jamie Sheridan-Crawley, CPA, Hulsey, Harwood & Sheridan, LLC; Long Nguyen,
Lumen; Miguel Perez, Plondo Network, Inc.; Kelly Shambro, Progressive Bank; Connor
Ashley, Kennedy Rice Mill, LLC; Tom Nicholson, Strauss Interests; Ash Aulds, Murphy
USA; DeRon L. Talley, MBA, Key Marketing Solutions听
Final Round Judges听
Dixon W. Abell, Abell LLC dba Poly Processing & Ouachita Fertilizer Company; Susan
Rowland, Origin Bank; William Smart, Monroe Housing Authority; David R. Smith, Entrepreneurial
Accelerator Program, Biomedical Research Foundation; John Mark White, Louisiana Plastic
Industries听
Pelican Cup Sponsors听
Premier Sponsor and Founder: Dhu Thompson听
Catalyst Sponsor: Abell, LLC听
Expansion Sponsor: Scott Equipment听
Growth Sponsors: Arkansas Capital Corporation,听Kennedy Rice Mill/4 Sisters Rice/Neighbors, Entrepreneurial
Accelerator Program, BRIP 鈥� The Biomedical Research & Innovation Park, Mid South Extrusion听
Breakthrough Sponsors: InterMountain Management, Marsala Beverage, Monroe Chamber of Commerce, Progressive
Bank, 网曝门 Foundation Board, John Rea Realty, 90.3 KEDM Public Radio, Southern Industrial
Contractors, Box Drop Mattress, Monroe Housing Authority, Law Offices of John L. Luffey,
Jr., Holyfield Construction, Inc. Central Oil & Supply, Homeland Bank, Origin Bank听
Influencer Sponsors: West Monroe West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce, Owen Corporation, Unique Trophies
& Awards, Inc. 听
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