CLC Students Showcase Business Ideas at 2nd Annual Pitch Competition

The North Central Small Business Development Center at Central Lakes College hosted its second annual Raider Cup Pitch Competition earlier this week in Brainerd. The event is an opportunity for student entrepreneurs to showcase their innovative ideas.

For the North Central SBDC at Central Lakes College, the competition is all about giving students the platform they deserve.

“We’re really big believers in that good ideas can come from anywhere and that they should come from everywhere,” said North Central SBDC Regional Director Katie Heppner. “We really wanted to elevate our students, provide them the extra guidance that we do through the Small Business Development Center, to really polish up those ideas, have them be a little bit more real world and concrete.”

The students who participated in the Raider Cup each submitted a pre-recorded pitch for a panel of four judges to evaluate based on problem and solution, market position, and the business model.

“We decided to go with pre-filmed pitches. We wanted to give the students something concrete they could walk away with,” Heppner explained. “Also, public speaking is not everyone’s passion. We didn’t want good ideas to be hidden just because someone wasn’t comfortable speaking for 10 minutes in front of a crowd.”

The theme for this year’s Raider Cup Pitch Competition was community and technology, and the students understood the assignment, presenting ideas ranging from community calendars to a center for seniors and the neurodivergent.

“I was so proud of every student,” said CLC Business Solutions Specialist Regla Hernandez. “Every idea was unique and really just part of the community, putting ideas out there that we do need here in Brainerd in this area.”

While the students all aimed for the first- and second-place prizes of $500 and $250, respectively, the pitch competition was about far more than that. It also gave the contestants an opportunity to connect with fellow peers and learn from and connect with professionals who have plenty of knowledge on the business landscape.

“Having the SBA [Small Business Administration] here, [Minnesota district director] Brian McDonald, was a way for us to showcase that the SBA, the SBDC, we collaborate with students and with local businesses,” Hernandez said.

“I hope that they realize that their ideas have value and that they continue to pursue them,” Heppner added.

Skyler Starry took home first place for her business idea, Auntie’s Play Place. Eric Hebert won second place for his Brainerd Lakes Area Jazz Club idea.