WKU News

The WKU Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation yesterday awarded five student teams $950 in the second annual Topper Tank Elevator Pitch Competition.

The Topper Tank Elevator Pitch Competition is similar to the ABC television show “Shark Tank.” This year, 11 student teams presented their original ideas and inventions in 90-second elevator pitches to five judges.

The winning student teams and their ideas are:

1^st Place ($500): Kaley Skaggs (Bluebird Coffee Bus)

2^nd Place ($250): Davis Church & Trent Erps (Helm Brothers Apparel)

3^rd Place ($100): Chandler Smith & Jamie Harvener (Cinema Experience)

Honorable Mention ($50): Tim LeMastus (CANI LED)

Honorable Mention ($50): Hayley Renneker (Night Delights Bakery)

Serving at the judges’ table were: Karol Ann Hoffman, VP of Sales & Marketing at AvKARE, David Perkins, VP of Sales and Medical Supplies/Biologics for AvKARE, Samantha McCormick, owner of Taboo Dance & Fitness, Dr. Paula Potter, WKU Management Department Chair, and Kyle O’Donnell, founder and owner of Only Footprints.

Students winners will now have the opportunity to consult with local business leaders and WKU professors to perfect their ideas before moving on to other competitions, such as the WKU Business Plan Competition, which will take place in December.

“We are excited to extend this opportunity to our students for a second year. We are hopeful several of these students will feed into our WKU Business Plan Competition, where they will be able to earn and learn even more,” said Dr. Dawn L. Bolton, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.