A doctoral student in chemistry wins the sixth edition of the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge
In 2019, East Carolina University graduate student Elizabeth LaFave was analyzing samples for the Country Doctor Museum to Bailey.
This relationship quickly revealed that the museum was suffering from the effects of COVID-19 and had few visitors.
This experience inspired LaFave to create Invenire, an app that presents virtual tours of small museums, helping to grow their audiences and expand their reach beyond those accessible by car.
This innovative thinking led her to finish first in this year’s competition. Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge (PEC)sponsored by the Miller School of Entrepreneurshipwhere she received $15,000 in prizes and in-kind services.
After competing against five teams representing three ECU colleges with ideas ranging from technology, clothing, fitness and social enterprises, Invenire won the night and a chance to “elevate small museum content by bringing it to the front and center,” LaFave said.
To add to her challenge winnings, an anonymous donor granted Invenire an additional $15,000, and she will have an additional $15,000 in optional stock investment.
ECU Chancellor Philip Rogers said, “I don’t know if there is a better example on our campus right now that brings together multiple disciplines where students can generate new, big ideas that they can then commercialize to a given moment of this experience. … This truly exemplifies the epitome of what our innovative, forward-looking campus looks like.”
LaFave drew on her role as an ambassador of innovation in ECU Licensing and Marketing Office, where she helped develop business plans and presentations based on the creation of a unique digital experience – Invenire – for the Country Doctor Museum. Subsequently, in spring 2022, she participated in the I-Body@ECU program, which allowed him to expand on this idea by conducting client interviews that ultimately revealed that other small museums were suffering.
This was LaFave’s third time competing at PEC and presenting Invenire to a panel of judges in hopes of winning the $15,000 cash prize.
“This large amount of (gains) was unexpected,” said LaFave, a Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences student specializing in chemistry. “I’m going to have a lot of enthusiastic collaborators with our museums.”
Additional winners
Two other winners left the PEC with cash prizes for their business ideas. College of Commerce Student Katie Rowland won second place and $10,000 for her business Fosterline Support, an organization that creates a universal background check process to find affordable, short-term child care for families ‘welcome. College of Health and Human Performance Student Jennifer George won third place and $5,000 for her business Flourish Mind and Body, an integrated physical and mental wellness space for victims of sexual assault. PEC sponsors Red Shark Digital and Radiate Prints also awarded George $5,000 and $1,000, respectively.
Allison S. Danell, dean of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences, receives the Challenge Cannon, awarded to the dean whose student won the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge. The cannon will remain with Thomas Harriot until next year’s Pirate Challenge.
“There are many needs here in Eastern North Carolina,” said Dennis Barber III, interim director of the Miller School of Entrepreneurship. “What we saw in the finals reflects the role our students can play in meeting these needs. »
To select the winners, PEC relied on a panel of judges who know what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. Judges for this year’s finals included:
- Vern Davenport ’81 — partner, QHP Capital
- John May ’93 — managing partner, CORE Industrial Partners
- Sonja P. Nichols — president and owner, Southern Lion, LLC and member of the UNC Board of Governors
- Grant Smith – current ECU student and former PEC winner
“It’s amazing what this university is doing and how much forward-thinking is being invested in the College of Business,” May said. In October 2022, May was the keynote speaker at COB’s Business Leadership Conference.
“I think they (the participants) did a wonderful job,” Nichols said. “I was extremely proud of them for their willingness to stand up in front of all these people to expose themselves and their idea to critical thinking and critical eyes.”
“As ideas continue to grow, so does the impact of the challenge on participants,” said challenge organizer David Mayo. “Our goal next year is to increase cash prizes and provide mentors for second-round participants.”
The mentors of this year’s finalists were Ryan Butcher, a serial entrepreneur; Miller School; Tyler Lumely with the Center for Small Business and Technology Development at ECU; Robby Carney with Duelboot Partners; Taylor Walden with Simple and Sentimental; and Grant Edwards, fractional financial director. This year’s final marked the first time that all three winners were women, and all came from different colleges.
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