Suraya Buffong ’18 makes her pitch to local entrepreneurs.
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Hutchison Girls Pitch Business Ideas to Entrepreneurs
Four upper school girls – Suraya Buffong ’18, Abigail White ’18, Samantha Tancredi ’18, and Katie McBride ’19 – participated in a Pitch Day as part of Hutchison Invests.
The girls pitched their business ideas to entrepreneurs from the Mid-South community who have expertise in creating and planning businesses. This pitch session was part of the inaugural year of the Hutchison Invests program, where girls work to identify, research, and plan an entrepreneurial idea that they could turn into a real business.
Suraya’s idea is called Young Green Thumbs and is an after-school program for elementary kids where they learn about organic foods and healthy eating. Abigail presented her plan for a custom jewelry business, where she would make custom-fitting rings and other jewelry. Samantha presented You & We, an idea for providing for the emotional needs of kids going through treatment for various illnesses and to give back to St. Jude Children’s Hospital through sponsorship of events like a 5K run. And Katie’s business is called Katie’s Camps for Kids, which would serve both private schools and public organizations with day camps and also connect babysitters with families needing those services.
Entrepreneurs from EPIcenter (The Entrepreneurship-Powered Innovation Center), Memphis Startup, and MadeBy Project listened as each girl gave a three- to five-minute presentation about their business. They talked about identifying a problem, coming up with an idea to solve it, how they would publicize and market their business, ways they would raise money, and what their profits could be. Each girl followed her presentation by answering questions posed to them by the entrepreneurs listening. We’re excited to hear our girls planning potential businesses and watching them interact with professionals out in the world doing the same. Great job girls!
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