Pirate's Pitch with students presenting

Pirates Pitch StartUp

Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship

The Pirates Pitch Startup Competition is held annually and open to all Seton Hall students. The competition is part of the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s education program. At the event, six finalist student entrepreneur teams pitch to a panel of alumni entrepreneur judges and faculty members for $16,000 in seed funding, plus legal services.

We invite students, faculty, alumni, parents, and members of the community to join us for this incredible night of new ideas. In addition, attendees will have an opportunity to select their favorite business venture and vote for the $500 Audience Choice Award.

This year's Pirates Pitch will be held on Wednesday, April 3, 2024 at 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in Jubilee Hall Auditorium. The competition will also be livestreamed HERE.

View The Pirates Pitch Live Stream

About the Competition

The student teams spent several months attending a series of networking and mentoring events and workshops to assist them in turning their innovative and creative ideas into viable business models. The judges will evaluate the teams based on their ability to execute their business model and turn it into a viable, profitable business.

Finalist student teams will pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges, comprised of successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, as they compete for $16,000. The judges will award varying amounts to each team depending on how well they impress an individual judge. The live audience will vote for their favorite team. All students, faculty, alumni, families and members of the public are invited to attend the virtual event and vote for their favorite team. The Finalist team with the most votes will win the $500 Audience Choice Award. All finalist teams will also receive pro bono legal services from the Pirates Pitch contest legal sponsor, OGC Outside General Counsel Solutions. The contest will be held in University Center Theater starting at 6:30 p.m.

The judges will award a 1st place prize of $8,000, a 2nd place prize of $3,500 and a 3rd place of $3,000.

Big Thanks to Our Law Firm Sponsorship

OGC Logo

CIE thanks attorneys Christopher Santomassimo and Anthony Davis and their staff for providing legal assistance to our Pirates Pitch Finalists.

 
The following successful alumni entrepreneurs will serve as contest judges: Bryan Jakovcic '09, president and owner, Fusion Health; Gabino Roche,’98, chief executive officer and founder, Saphyre; Shannon D.M. Morris ,’92/M.A. ’94, managing partner, Tent Collective, and founder, The Whistle Company; and Carina Castagna ‘21/M.P.A. ‘22, founder and chief executive officer, Pesto Joe.
 

Meet the Student Entrepreneurs

Congratulations to the Finalist Teams!

The student finalists teams are:

  1. NatureFill: Maria Saitta, Bryce Miller, Jackson Vaughn, Morgan Frye, and Nalani Rios
  2. AtendiVPN: Nathaniel Bikhman
  3. Mirjam: Annabelle Raukete and Joseph Barrood
  4. Katalyst: Michelle Lew and Miabella Espaillat
  5. DocuForge: Sid Kapoor, Cameron Lloyd, and Jerry Ford
  6. Refresh Me: Taylor Patnode, Madeline Matheny, Madeline Bachand, and Walker Parra