Business plan and pitch competition open to Santa Barbara County college and high school students
2017 Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge winner, Sylvia Franco-Comer, with her flagship product Smokin’ Good Salsa (Photo Sean Comer) Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara City College Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation has announced its call for entries for the 12th Annual Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge (NVC) business plan and pitch competition. The event is open to SBCC students and all college and high school students in Santa Barbara County.
“This is the Scheinfeld Center’s 12th year hosting the competition to promote student entrepreneurship and career development and we’re thrilled to provide students the ongoing opportunity to interact, network, and further sharpen their entrepreneurial skills through business plan writing and pitching,” states Julie Samson, Director of the Scheinfeld Center.
The Scheinfeld NVC is divided into two tiers: Tier One for high school students and Tier Two for college students. Independent judges will select 10 finalists from each tier based on their business plan submissions, and the finalists will then pitch their concept at the virtual Scheinfeld NVC pitch competition. Local business executives, bankers, investors, and entrepreneurs will judge the pitch competition and select the top three winners in each tier. The winning students will receive start-up cash and in-kind startup support totaling over $15,000.
The Scheinfeld NVC will be held virtually and live-streamed on YouTube, enabling the entire regional community to engage with the aspiring student entrepreneurs and show their support. “Year after year, the student entrepreneurs state that community support is what they desire most as they advance their ventures,” said Samson. This reality is confirmed by the 2021 collegiate first-place winner and founder of Texas Tacos, Elvis Idunate, who states, “The Scheinfeld NVC was a great experience for me, and hearing the support from each judge, fellow classmates, family and the community provides the true motivation to execute my business plan.”
Many Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge finalists and winners go on to launch their ventures with further support from the Scheinfeld Center in a wide range of industries such as apparel, specialty foods, communication technologies and more. Sylvia Franco Comer was a 2017 Scheinfeld NVC winner with her launch of Casa De Comer Foods’ flagship product Smokin’ Good Salsa, and she then went on to complete the 2019 Scheinfeld Get Real Accelerator. Their salsa is carried by all 27 Gelson’s stores, as well as several other regional grocers, and they recently expanded their product line with three new salsas, increasing their in-store refrigerated shelf space.“The Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge and programs have provided much-needed support to help us achieve important milestones,” states Sylvia. Other past winners include FuelBox, Oil Slick Beach Tar Remover, and [IN]Larkin.
The deadline for entries is midnight on April 21, 2022, and official rules and instructions are available on the Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge website. Finalists from each tier will be announced on April 25 and the Scheinfeld NVC pitch competition will be held on April 29. Direct questions about the competition to the competition email at scheinfeldnvc@gmail.com
About the Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation — The Scheinfeld Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at Santa Barbara City College is a hub for entrepreneur development in Santa Barbara County, and it serves as a model program for other California community college districts. As part of the Jack & Julie Nadel School of Business & Entrepreneurship, the Scheinfeld Center trains globally competent entrepreneurs using a comprehensive approach that includes academics, hands-on learning, and business support. Participants can build their business in the classroom and shore up gaps in their entrepreneurial skill set through the Scheinfeld Center’s distinctive combination of coursework, business plan and pitch competitions, internships, no-cost business consulting, mentoring, networking, and post-startup support. To learn more, visit www.scheinfeld.sbcc.edu