SANTA BARBARA — The Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge business plan and pitch competition returned for its 12th season on Friday, April 29, showcasing some of our region’s most exciting and innovative college and high school student entrepreneurs. The event was live-streamed on YouTube, and videos from the college and high school competitions can be viewed on the Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge website.
Students from Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) kicked off the collegiate tier of the event, followed by the high school tier, which featured students from San Marcos High School, Anacapa School, Santa Barbara High School and Cabrillo High School. The aspiring entrepreneurs competed for over $15,000 in cash awards and startup support.
The $5,500 grand prize in the collegiate tier went to SBCC student Ian Cairns for his venture Caire Fare, which manufactures plant-based snacks that contribute to human and planetary holistic health and are marketed toward health-conscious snackers. The company values environmental and social impact, transparency and communication of the link between food and wellness.
Camille Faiola from SBCC took home the second place prize and $3,000 for Decades Revival, a mobile second-hand clothing retailer specializing in the curation and sale of quality vintage clothing to support sustainability in the fashion industry.
The third place prize of $2,000 went to SBCC student Cynthia Rodriguez for FIGS Finance, an online financial learning platform for millennial women that uses gamification and storytelling to teach financial literacy through earning, saving and investing.
In the high school tier, Anacapa School student Marco DiPadova won first place and $1,000 for his venture, Planet Duck, a for-profit, purpose-driven business on a mission to fight animal cruelty. 100 percent of net proceeds from the sale of Planet Duck merchandise goes to organizations fighting to protect animal rights.
Alondra Hernandez Ascencio, Wendy Benitez Jaramillo and Brisa Alonso Perez from San Marcos earned second place and a $600 award for their venture Smile4Life, a program for youth that teaches valuable life lessons and builds healthy habits that help sustain emotional and physical wellness.
Third place and $400 went to San Marcos student Ava Talley for her venture All About Lavender, which manufactures a variety of feel-good and smell-good products that feature lavender. The company is environmentally conscious and uses lavender that grows around the Cabrillo High School campus to make its products.
The winners were determined by independent judges who are established entrepreneurs and investors in their own right and hold senior-level positions in their companies. The collegiate judges’ panel included Carlos Adame of the Piñata Farms; Pam Tanase of Workzones; and Tony Winter of QAD. Serving the high school tier were judges John Harmon of Oil Slick Beach Tar Remover and Stingless Adhesive Remover; Lili Muñoz of Colibri Handmade; and John Richardson of Amazon Stores 4 U.
“We’re so proud of the 12th Annual Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge finalists and winners,” said Julie Samson, director of the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. “Today’s entrepreneurial challenges and opportunities are unprecedented, and rallying community support around the ongoing development of these and other student entrepreneurs is essential to their success. We thank the educators, mentors, and judges from our region who help student entrepreneurs advance, and we welcome continued community participation in our Scheinfeld Center programs in the months and years to come.”
