March 3, 2011
St. Mary’s University’s Entrepreneur Scholar (E-scholar) students won four of the top 10 spots in the national 2011 E-scholar Consortium Student Conference held recently in Denver, Colorado.
Alexandra McCoy, a senior English major Arlington, took second place and $300 in the Elevator Pitch Competition. Vincent Astudillo, a senior international relations major from Laredo; Josey Davila, a senior accounting major from Waco; and Lashelle Villarreal, a senior engineering management major from San Antonio, all placed top 10 in the competition. In the Elevator Pitch Competition, students have 90 seconds (the time of an elevator ride) to deliver a business concept to attract investors.
McCoy’s business concept is a women’s dress shoe with detachable heels that creates a shoe with 11 different heel height options. Astudillo’s business concept is a modeling agency that prioritizes service first and offers models the opportunity to travel within an international exchange program. Davila’s business concept explores the idea of creating an eco-shop in San Antonio. Villarreal’s business concept is a timekeeping device focused on counting down time and displaying inspirational messages for presenters.
Astudillo and McCoy, working with students from University of Portland, College of Saint Benedict, and St. John’s University, also took first place in the 24-Hour Business Plan Challenge. This challenge requires participants to develop a business concept and present it within 24 hours to a panel of judges. Astudillo and McCoy’s group presented the concept of a phone application that tracks travelers domestically and internationally using geo-tagging.