St. Norbert College Holds First “Shark Tank” Entrepreneurship Event

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From St. Norbert College, December 14, 2016
by Matthew Matuszak, matthew.matuszak@snc.edu, 920-403-3089

On Dec. 6, St. Norbert College hosted its first "Shark Tank" event in the Fort Howard Theater of the F. K. Bemis International Conference Center on the college campus. The event was open to all students. The first-place prize of $1,000 was awarded to graduate students Vaughn Bowles (Green Bay, Wis.), Tyler Clark (Green Bay, Wis.) and Nic Reynolds (Kaukauna, Wis.) for their joint presentation on customized children's books. The second-place prize of $500 was awarded to first-year undergraduate student Austin Scribner (Washburn, Wis.).

The "Shark Tank" event was part of the St. Norbert College Schneider School of Business and Economics Entrepreneurship Series, featuring guest speakers and business-plan pitches. The event culminated in an "elevator pitch" contest for students interested in startups, entrepreneurships and possible business ideas. Presenters had 90 seconds to pitch the problem their idea would solve, the solution, the target market and the competitive advantage the idea would bring.

Joy Pahl, assistant professor of business administration at St. Norbert College, directed the project, aimed in part at improving Wisconsin's entrepreneurial climate, currently ranked last among all states. "Shark Tank," based on the ABC television show of the same name, is part of a broader effort to create a space and infrastructure on campus for students looking into entrepreneurial careers, as well as to strengthen the college's relationship with De Pere and Green Bay entrepreneurs in the business community. In addition to the competition, the event featured entrepreneur Chris Schmitz, 2008 graduate of St. Norbert, Brown County executive Troy Streckenbach and president of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Rob Zerjav as speakers.

For more information, contact Lisa Gray at 920-403-3449 or email lisa.gray@snc.edu.