New Venture Challenge Winners Announced

Local student entrepreneurs dazzled both the judges and the packed SBCC Fé Bland Forum audience at the 9th Annual Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge business plan and pitch competition on Friday, April 26.

Students from Santa Barbara City College and Antioch University kicked off the collegiate tier of the event, followed by the high school tier, which featured students from San Marcos and the Anacapa School. The up-and-coming entrepreneurs competed for over $15,000 in cash and scholarship awards, which were presented to the student winners at the May 3rd Spirit of Entrepreneurship Awards dinner. 

The $5,500 grand prize in the collegiate tier went to Santa Barbara City College student Abel Amoes for his venture, Propia Mixa, which he’s launching in his homeland, Angola, Africa. Propria Mixa will provide lottery services in Luanda with the aim of reducing the level of unemployment and increasing the standard of living.

Karsten Heideman, also from SBCC, took home 2nd place and $3,000 for Droplit, a line of mobile phone wireless chargers that utilize an innovative magnetized connection to replace tabletop chargers with a secure connection that conveniently attaches to walls and other surfaces. Karsten spent over a year developing the perfect ratio between magnets and wireless charging rate to deliver a product that charges fast while providing the strongest  hold on the phone.

The 3rd place prize of $2,000 went to SBCC student Giuseppe Dattilo for Datillo Custom Leather Goods, a venture inspired by his grandfather, an Italian tailor, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1958 and built the Datillo family name based on his passion and commitment to craftsmanship.  Giuseppe carries on this commitment by manufacturing the finest leather bags, belts, wallets, and leather goods for men and women that emphasize style, quality, and practicality.

In the high school tier, San Marcos students Eva Moschitto and Emily Steidl won 1st place honors and $1,000 for their event production company, Pressed Apron. Then team has already worked nine events and they’re ready to help local hosts and hostesses enjoy their parties and special events without all the overwhelm.

Anne Burdette, Mariana Rodriguez, Bella Comati, and Orion Guevara from the Anacapa School earned 2nd place and a $600 award for their venture One4One, which merges commerce with social good by offering custom engraved insulated water bottles to those who want to hydrate in style at school or work. One4One is committed to giving back by donating a portion of their revenue to nonprofits that bring clean water filtering systems to overseas villages in need.

3rd place and $400 went to San Marcos student Fiona Kinsella for Fiona Kinsella Designs. Fiona creates personalized high-quality affordable jewelry designed to make locals feel beautiful inside and out and sources all materials locally. Her passion started at age of 11, when her only goal was to create beautiful designs that make locals feel they’re supporting a mission of passion and beauty.

The winners were determined by independent judges who are established entrepreneurs in their own right and hold senior level positions in their companies.  The collegiate judges panel included military veteran Travis Mack of Saalex Corporation;  Krista Treide of Modus, who merges commerce with social good; and Mike Su of Snap’s Yellow Incubator and board member of Defy Ventures—a prison entrepreneurship program. Serving the high school tier were judges Rashelle Monet of Umbii, who is an SBCC Entrepreneurship Program alumna;  Jose Huitron of Hub81 and Santa Maria Valley Tech, which are designed to fuel new growth within the Santa Maria Valley’s tech and entrepreneurial ecosystem and support the advancement of Hispanic and Latinx communities in technology.

“It’s fitting to announce and  celebrate this year’s Scheinfeld New Venture Challenge student entrepreneur winners during National Small Business Week, as their ventures show great promise of viability and are a testament to their hard work and the quality of our region’s academic entrepreneurship programs.” said Scheinfeld Center Director Julie Samson. “We’re excited to support the winners with seed money, scholarship opportunities, and business consulting to further develop their enterprises. I’m confident our Santa Barbara community will be hearing much more from these inspiring students, and we encourage our community to follow the Scheinfeld Center on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to track the collegiate tier’s progression through our brand new Get REAL Accelerator program beginning this summer.”