Past Winners
Pirates Pitch 2023
Judges chose the first, second, and third place winners based on criteria and the student team with the most votes won the $500 Audience Choice Award.
Junior Buccino Leadership student Jason Santos took home the first place prize of $8,000 for his non-profit business Pirates Closet. Pirates Closet provides students in need with free professional attire for job interviews and networking events.
Nursing students Brooke and Madison Loza took home second place and were awarded $4,500 for their environmentally friendly online marketplace One Stop Eco Shop. The Buccino Leadership students also won the $500 Audience Choice Award and plan on using the funds won to support their newly opened brick and mortar store.
Taking home the third place prize of $3,000 was Stillman junior Cameron Llloyd for his business pitch APPRENTICESHIPMENT. Llloyd's business concept aims to help meet the need for apprentices in the manufacturing industry. Lloyd’s online platform will help bridge the gap between high school students looking to secure apprenticeships in high-paying skilled fields and businesses who are in dire need.
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Pirates Pitch 2022
Students were awarded varying amounts of venture capital seed funding by the investor judges to reflect the entrepreneurial fund-raising process.
Graduate student Jonathan Soyka took home $10,000 for his business Air Garden Inc., a year-old startup utilizing aeroponics to grow vegetables and greens that are less costly than conventional produce.
Jae Morris, a senior studying biology, secured $5,000 for Back2Roots, a hair care company that she recently launched to promote hair growth and length retention. Morris also won the $500 Audience Choice Award.
Pirates Pitch 2021
Students were awarded varying amounts of venture capital seed funding by the investor judges to reflect the entrepreneurial fund-raising process.
Nicholas Marinelli, a member of the Gerald P. Buccino ’63 Center for Leadership Development Program, received $7,000 for the Extra Time Training app. He also received an additional $500 for winning the Audience Choice Award.
David Farrelly, a senior in the Stillman School of Business, won $5,000 in seed funding for his business venture, Action Hearth.
Originally from Mexico, Christian Patlan, cofounder of the Kevin Alexander Company, was awarded $3,000 for his startup idea for male cosmetics.
Annabella Robb, a junior majoring in graphic design and minoring in art history, won $1,000 for her custom press-on nail business, Annabellacures.
Pirates Pitch 2020
Students were awarded varying amounts of venture capital seed funding by the investor judges to reflect the entrepreneurial fund-raising process.
Noah Thompson, a Senior in the Stillman School, received $6,500 for Agape.
Buccino Leadership Institute sophomores Rachel Badway, Stillman School (finance), and Robin Schilke, College of Arts and Sciences, (art and design) received $4,500 for Lead Ahead.
Stillman Sophomore Luke Tyler and Junior Marian Bsharat received $3,000 for Edith.
Buccino Leadership Institute sophomores Faith Akinlade (civil engineering and physics) and Belen Gamarra (psychology and business minor) received $1,250 for KINetics.
Stillman seniors Anthony Conrad (management), Jevon Mitchell (finance), Marcellis Counts (social and behavior sciences) and junior Quintar Mathis (liberal studies with communication minor) received $750 for Don’t Stop Skate.
Pirates Pitch 2019
Students were awarded varying amounts of venture capital seed funding by the investor judges to reflect the entrepreneurial fund-raising process.
Alissa Lopez, MBA student, received $9,000 for Sincere Sitter.
College of Nursing freshmen Allison Lamoureux, Katie Mazzarelli and Annemarie Ryan received $3,500 for Care Call.
Stillman School of Business Seniors Peyton Elder and Olivia Finane were awarded $2,000 for Flock.
Stillman Juniors Steven Catadul and Elizabeth Win and Senior Nathanael Boatswain received $1,500 for Sprouts Analytics.
Pirates Pitch 2018
First Place: Madison Schott (senior, Mathematical Finance/Marketing) won the $7,000 first-place award for Trenditure, an app that makes book recommendations based on current events and trending news.
Second Place & Audience Choice Award: Seniors Nasima Nagim (Accounting/Finance) and Walla Elshekh (Political Science) won both the $4,500 second-place award and the $500 Audience Choice Award for Tahira, a start-up that provides business attire for women who dress modestly.
Third Place: Third-place honors and a prize of $3,000 went to senior Patrick Burd (Marketing/Management), who pitched Classic Soccer Cleats, an online vendor of classic-style soccer cleats.
Pirates Pitch 2017
First Place: David Webster—Divvi, an idea for a cross-platform social messaging app to enhance coordination of groups and teams.
Second Place: Anthony Laverde—RePhone LLC, a cell phone screen repair startup.
Audience Choice Award: TJ Merighi and Ian Campbell —CampusGo, a bike rental service for expansive college campuses.
Pirates Pitch 2016
First Place & Audience Choice Award: Christian Zeron — Theo & Harris, an online seller of men's vintage watches.
Second Place: Shaaliyah Lyons — Together We Conquer, a summer basketball camp for inner-city high school students that also focuses on developing academic skills.
Pirates Pitch 2015
First Place: Ryan Skolnick for his business idea Aveho, a video game format for students in K-12 to learn Chinese and other foreign languages.
Second Place: The team of Mike Gavela, Brian Wreckler and Johnil Quezada for their business idea Cthroo, a discovery engine based on the ethical collection of personal data.
Audience Choice Award: The team of Aziz Syed and Brent Ciccarino for their business idea Service Station, a mobile and website application to help consumers find reliable contractors for home remodeling projects.
Pirates Pitch 2014
First Place (Tie): Mary Beliveau and David Kelly, seniors in the School of Diplomacy and International Relations, were recognized for their plan for Mazava Solar, a solar-powered mobile phone charger specifically designed for use in developing countries. Stillman freshman Qingyu (Vito) Lu was selected for his plan to open a Video Game Console Café in his hometown in Nanjing, China. Both teams will receive a monetary award of $4,750 and business services to assist in launching their companies.
Audience Choice Award: Mazava Solar (described above) and HorseDr.com, a web-based resource for equestrians pitched by Stillman sophomore Selene Presseller.
Pirates Pitch 2013
First Place: Carl Banks Jr., a senior studying graphic design in the College of Arts & Sciences, won the first place prize for Audiotecha, an online music data search engine.
Second Place: Taseen Peterson, a junior in the Stillman School of Business, won the second prize for TapFactory, LLC, an actual business he started with his brother and another associate, that creates and sells apps through the App Store, including StickyNotes, a reminder app that has over 4 million downloads.
Pirates Pitch 2012
First Place: Megan Kelly & Ana Martinez, seniors studying public relations and journalism in the College of Arts & Sciences, won the first place award for PR Express, a web-based business that seeks to make public relations and social media services more accessible to small businesses. The third member of the PR Express team is Adriana Gini, a student at Union County College.
Second Place: Margaret Reilly, a senior in the Stillman School of Business who entered the contest solo, won the second place award for Complementary Connections, an innovative marketing agency that fosters partnerships among products to raise brand recognition with consumers.
Pirates Pitch 2011
First Place: Luciana Contuzzi, a freshman in the Stillman School of Business who entered the contest solo, won the $3,500 first place award for The See-Stick, an inexpensive device that would allow hospitals to more efficiently evaluate and treat patient wounds.
Second Place: Eric Casperson & Andrew Gilberti, seniors in the Stillman School, won the $1,500 second place award for X-Act Sports, a smart phone application that would allow users to more easily track favorite sports teams.
Third Place: $100 "Honorable Mention" award went to the team of Allen Ratz, a senior in the Stillman School, and Caitlin Papa, a senior in the College of Education and Human Services, for A.C.E. Efforts, a proposal to create a hydroponic farm that would employ autistic young adults in partnership with the Alpine Learning Group, a private non-profit school for autistic students in Paramus, N.J.