Second-annual Pitch Palooza hits the campus of Missouri Southern

It was a big day for the entrepreneurial spirit on the campus of Missouri Southern State university.

On Thursday, MSSU hosted the second-annual Pitch Palooza, a full day of local business ideas and pitches by collegiate students in the four-state area as well as local residents. 

“We have the collegiate division, we have startup businesses pitching and startups,” said Katie Kelly, the MSSU Director of the Missouri Small Business Development Center.”So, their business is not even launched yet or they’re less than a year old. And then we have scalability, meaning they’ve been in business for a while and they’re looking to scale their business. It’s all about entrepreneurship, the entrepreneurial ecosystem and supporting our community and the businesses that run it.”

Local businessmen and women as well as student groups from MSSU, Crowder College, Northeastern Oklahoma and Labette Community College have been working for months on business ideas and pitches.

“It’s really amazing to be here,” Crowder student presenter Tensley West said. “I’m glad we get the opportunity to present our skills and kind of see what we’ve learned at our time in Crowder, and I think it’s also amazing that we have such a networking event. We’re able to meet people in the community and really find a place and start from there.”

Thanks to sponsorship from Aloe Fiber, Downtown Joplin Alliance, Carthage Chamber of Commerce, Joplin Chamber of Commerce, Missouri Southern Plaster School of Business and Four States Bank, winning business pitches will get a $2,000 cash prize, a year membership to the Joplin and Carthage Area Chambers of Commerce as well as a possible booth at Third Thursday or the Empire Market.

“It’s pretty nerve wracking, but I think that there’s a lot of energy in here and it feels very vibrant,” MSSU student Mazi Gray said. “Everyone in here is marked by curiosity. That’s like the main trait of an entrepreneur.”