Elizabethtown College students recently took part in “Pitch Perfect,” a one-minute business pitch competition hosted by the School of Business on Monday, March 27 in the Hoover Center.
Students from all majors were invited to present a business idea or develop a product to pitch to investors that helps to reduce food waste in America – a problem that results in nearly 80 billion pounds of discarded food each year in the U.S.
First place was awarded to International Business major, Belle Brodbeck ’25 whose winning pitch centered on designing a product life cycle for cities, which would require food to be collected and made into fertilizer, to then be sold to grow quality food products. The business model would also allow for more jobs in cities, as well as higher wages for its workers.
“I was shocked by winning since everyone had wonderful pitches and were all terrific ideas,” Brodbeck said. “It was a wonderful opportunity which allowed every major to perfect a much-needed skill.”
(L-R): Pitch Perfect top 3 finishers: Belle Brodbeck ’25, Billy Valdez ’25, and Saki Takatsu ’26.
The competition’s second place prize was awarded to Saki Takatsu ’26 and third place was granted to Billy Valdez ’25.
The event was sponsored by the Clark Foundation, who generously provided scholarship prizes of varying amounts to the three winners.
The pitches were judged by the Director of Relationship Management and Advancement Operations for Institutional Advancement at Elizabethtown College, Cori Breault; the Vice President, Equipment & Smallwares for Clark Associates, Aaron Weber and the guest lecturer at the School of Business and director of the MBA program at the ESG School of Business in Paris, France, Jean-Claude Cheminand-Serré.
Photos from the event can be viewed on the Elizabethtown College Flickr page.
