July 21, 2021

BSU Entrepreneurs Make Their Final Pitch

Students to Present Business Ideas at Summer Launch Showcase

BSU Entrepreneurs Make Their Final Pitch

MEDIA CONTACT: Cassandra Robinson, crobinson@bowiestate.edu, 301-860-4336

(BOWIE, Md.) – Bowie State University student entrepreneurs will round out the summer showcasing their business ideas in the culmination of the Entrepreneurship Academy Summer Launch Program (EASLP) where they spent nine weeks learning how to launch their eight new ventures. This is the third year that the BSU Entrepreneurship Academy has hosted the incubator program.

The summer showcase closing activity will take place virtually on Thursday, July 22, 2:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. with TEDCO’s CEO and Executive Director, Troy LeMaile-Stovall, as keynote speaker. The event is free and open to the public. Attendees must pre-register here by 1:00 p.m. on July 22.

Unlike a pitch competition, the Summer Launch fellows will have five minutes to share their findings from the past nine weeks of research and showcase their venture before a panel of startup founders, business executives, and industry experts. Each business aims to provide innovative solutions to everyday needs from finding a contractor or IT specialist, Black-owned business or the right music beats, to help with skin care or affordable fashion. Some tackle societal issues including malnutrition, language translation, and social distance monitoring.  

Summer Launch fellows used the lean startup methodology to help develop their venture, which is a method of managing and building a business by experimenting, testing, and iterating to develop products based on findings. Throughout the summer, the students participated in a series of workshops that included guest entrepreneurs who delivered presentations on technical writing, research methods, ethics, and presentation skills, which helped prepare them for the showcase. Freddie Mac funded the students’ product prototypes, and they also received a stipend from the program.

Students who complete the Summer Launch Program become eligible for the accelerator program, which takes a deeper dive into making that idea come to fruition. During that stage, students will work with a mentor towards getting the product or service to market.

The Summer Launch Program is open to both undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines. Applications for the next cohort will become available in December 2021.

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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.