Four winners emerged from the 2019 Leonard and Phyllis Attman Competitive Business Prize Competition event on Nov. 19, each taking home their own "big checks" and their portion of the more than $5,000 in prize money. The competition, held in the Wright Theater, and sponsored by the University of Baltimore's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, showcases many of the UB community's most talented and driven entrepreneurs.
Melvin Clark III, B.S. '20, took the top prize for the evening, netting $3,000 for his venture, AMJ Fishing Group, which produces high-end performance fishing gloves and apparel for sport and recreational anglers.
Second place, and a $1,000 prize, went to Devante Jones, J.D. '22, and Dexter Carr Jr., MBA '21, who teamed up to create G-Haven, a mobile e-sports pop-up venue where both competitive and casual gamers can gather to enjoy food, drinks, streaming services, and a social scene.
The team of Sherri Freeman, B.S. '20, Jumoke Gyenyame, B.A. '21, and Sherri Haynes, B.S. '20, representing E-Sure, a chip-encrypted medical insurance card bridging the gap between the provider, insurer, and the patient, took home the Crowd Favorite award of $750.
As an added highlight this year, Nikia Madison, B.S. '21, founder of Safe Pl8te Grocery, which provides allergen-free foods and snacks and serves as a resource for people who suffer from food allergies, earned the $500 "Hustle Award." Jason Tagler, founder of Pitch Creator, presented the cash prize—rolls of $20 bills in a glass jar—to Madison for showing the most improvement during the six-week presentation coaching program.
Now in its sixth year, and a highlight of Global Entrepreneurship Week on campus, the Attman Competitive Business Prize is sponsored by UB's Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and provides an opportunity for UB undergraduates and graduates, from all schools, to pitch ideas and concepts for new and existing businesses before a live audience of their peers, UB staff and entrepreneurial experts.
The University of Baltimore Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, named one of the Baltimore Business Journal's "Top Incubators and Accelerators for 2019," directs support and assistance to UB students and alumni interested in building or growing an enterprise. We do this through support, culture, events, education and research, and connecting with the business community. Meet with one of our counselors to discuss launching or growing your business.
Visit us at www.ubalt.edu/cei or call 410.837.4892 for more information.
(Photo by Adam McCall.)