Lauren Crowe, Management student, wins first place in the Crews Center Fast Pitch Competition

For release:  April 12, 2017

Lauren Crowe, a freshman in the Department of Management, was awarded the first place prize in the Crews Center for Entrepreneurship Fast Pitch Competition. Students were asked to present a brief pitch about their business models to a panel of four independent judges. The presentation included an introduction, a clear description of the problem being solved, the solution proposed, customer segments, competitive analysis, unique value propositions, and revenue streams.

Lauren began cultivating her idea while enrolled in an Introduction to Entrepreneurship management class. Her business pitch was named Flock United – a ride sharing company for students, by students. In the Crews Fast Pitch Competition, she competed against 17 other student start-up businesses. She earned first place, a $2,500 cash prize, and an invitation to submit an application to Launch TN for consideration in a statewide pitch competition to be held in Nashville.

"Lauren saw a problem and was determined to solve it, which is entrepreneurship in a nutshell. My ultimate goal is to help connect entrepreneurship programs within the University to the community at large. It is a win-win," said instructor Ela Emami, Department of Management. "The Crews Center, with Mike Hoffmeyer at the helm, has made strides in this direction but we are just getting started. I am very proud of all the students that chose to participate. It takes great courage to take these first steps. They all had great ideas and did very well."

"The Department of Management in the Fogelman College is very proud of Lauren Crowe for winning the pitch contest at the Crews Center for Entrepreneurship," said Dr. Chuck Pierce, chair of the Department of Management. "One of the goals of our university-wide entrepreneurship minor is for students to develop innovative business ideas and potential start-ups. Lauren's win at the pitch contest is precisely the kind of activity we are aiming for with our entrepreneurship minor. Congrats to Lauren and her MGMT 2820 instructor, Ela Emami."