From BGSU OFFICE OF MARKETING & BRAND STRATEGY
Student entrepreneurs at Bowling Greet State University will present their products and ideas starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 22 in hopes of getting funded by investors through The Hatch. The annual event follows a format similar to the ABC hit-show “Shark Tank.” The virtual event will be livestreamed and is open to the media and the public live at 6 p.m. at bgsu.edu/thehatch.
This year’s event features entrepreneurs from various majors and backgrounds who will pitch their business ideas to Falcon investors in the hopes of securing start-up funding. To date, more than $800,000 has been committed to student startups since The Hatch started in 2013.
This year’s virtual event will mark the first hybrid presentations – with both in-person and virtual components. Students themselves will appear and present in-person while adhering to current health and safety guidelines.
This year’s Hatchlings are:
- From the Schmidthorst College of Business, juniors Kathryn Greenwell, marketing major, and Leah Schulze, psychology major with a minor in Spanish, co-created “Wheely Warmers,” a product designed for wheelchair usability in winter. Joe Greve, business management major, will present “Crank-Savr Technology,” a fishing lure that prevents snags. Freshman Hatchlings Hunter Mahl, a business administration major, and Nathanael Slemmons, an economics major with a minor in entrepreneurship, will present their products, Mahl’s “Green Sweeper” for lawn care, and Slemmons’s “SimpleFinder” for locating lost objects around the house.
- From the College of Arts and Sciences, senior Nolan Thomas, an individualized studies major with a minor in entrepreneurship, will present “Ruff and Rugged,” a sturdier dog collar, along with junior Sophia Stockham, political science and communication double major, and her product, “Hear to Help,” improved and affordable hearing aids.
- Representing the College of Technology, Architecture and Applied Engineering, senior Shakir Blackett, aviation engineering technology major, has “TouchColor,” a braille system for clothing and color.
- The final two Hatchlings, doctoral student Pablo Gómez-Estévez from the College of Musical Arts with a major in composition, will present “Literally,” online musical interactive children’s stories, and 1989 business administration alumnus Tim Tressel will present “TOOLing Around Tool Caddy for Utility Tractors.”
The Paul J. Hooker Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, serving as “Hatch headquarters,” is one of 20 centers worldwide recognized by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
