INCubatoredu students take part in MVP Pitch Night

On Monday, Feb. 4, Mountain Brook High School hosted the first MVP Pitch Night for the INCubatoredu class. The class is an elective offered through the business department and is open to high school junior and seniors.  

The INCubatoredu class consists of six teams with a wide range of startup business ideas. Each team has developed a focused experiment to test their riskiest business assumptions. These experiments are called Minimum Viable Product Tests (MVP Tests). The six teams presented their MVP Pitch to the INCubatoredu panel of sharks in hopes to receive advice and up to $500 in funding. Following are a list of teams in order of appearance, along with funding received:

Link

Members: Baynes Autrey, Jay Rucker, Sam Rysedorph, Alex Washington

Mentors: Ginger and Tommy Mayfield, Wyndy

Funding Received: $100

DARTS

Members: Joe Daniel, Elizabeth Reid Gray, Adam Martin

Mentor: Kim Lee, Forge

Funding Received: $300

C4

Members: Thomas Jernigan, Stephen Malone, Vann Stewart, William Wood

Mentor: Knox Richardson, McLeod Software Corporation

Funding Received:  No funds requested

Lace-Mate

Members: James Burkett, James Childs, Austin Sikora, Sam Sullivan

Mentor: Ben Morris, FuelFox

Funding Received: $200

OMNI-Hitch

Members: Beck Corley, William O’Leary, David Windsor

Mentor: Patrick Dennis, Summit Renovations

Funding Received: $400

Over the Mountain Crates

Members: Brooks Autrey, Jake Gilbert, Mark Smith, Henry Tynes

Mentor: Mason Morris, Southern States Bank

Funding Received: $100

The sharks for this event were:  Key Hudson, Regions Banks; Liz Pharo, Featheringill Capital; Ward Neely, SRS Real Estate Partners; Dewayne Searcy, Cowin Equipment; and Grantland Rice of Cobbs Allen. The advice and funds received will be used to test the market to see if there is a demand for their product/service. The following sponsored the event:  The Welch Group, Waynes Environmental Services, Richardson Technology, Southern States Bank, Mr. Jamie Justice and Dr. David Hufham. The event was held at the Emmet O’Neal Library from 5:30-7:00 p.m. 

There will be a final pitch event in May during which teams can ask for funding to develop their product/service. If you would like to know more about INCubatoredu, find ways to get involved, or sponsor a team, contact Brooke Hawkins at hawkinsb@mtnbrook.k12.al.us.  

Submitted by Brooke Hawkins