On Friday, September 29th during SMU Family Weekend, the Office of Engaged Learning hosted the annual Big iDeas Pitch Contest in the Hughes-Trigg Chamber. A panel of Judges watched 22 SMU students give 90-second pitches for their businesses.
Big iDeas provides funding, training and coaching for entrepreneurial projects to undergraduates of any major. 13 student teams were awarded funding at the Pitch Contest.
Among the winners were senior Tiffany Jones, who proposed the Next Chapter, a collection of resources for adolescents aging out of foster care. Junior Jude Lugo proposed LectureLogger, an attendance tracking solution that uses secure QR codes to enhance classroom efficiency and learning outcomes. Junior Nrithi Subramanian proposed Mantra and Co., a service-based apparel and accessories brand seeking to create unity within the South Asian community.
Special thanks to our judges Michael Kelly (Co-Founder of Resolute Future), Mona El-Gharby (Founder & CEO of CURLē), Tia Nayar (Founder & CEO of Wildflower Insight), Dr. Seth Orsborn (Director of the Deason Innovation Gym), Kat Weaver (Founder of Power to Pitch).
Congratulations to the following winners:
A’Style Productions
Atrion Sorrells ‘24
Cubed
Rohit Patnala ‘23
Headstart
Speed Gregory ‘23
LectureLogger
Jude Lugo ‘25
Mantra and Co.
Nrithi Subramanian ‘25
PerunaBoT
Yaw Boateng ‘23
PREVO Streaming
Ryder McNeal ‘24
Quizlog
Eric Vu ‘25
Reflectly AI Inc.
Trevor Gicheru ‘25
Sana.xyz
Bernadette Cruz ‘27
Spotter
Nick Ludwig ‘24
Sallie’s Halo
Kennedy Honors ‘25
The Next Chapter
Tiffany Jones ‘23