Pitching new ideas
New Venture Pitch Competition student winners and judges smile after the competition.
At the 2023 Venture Pitch Competition, three students rose to the top and claimed a combined total of $3,000 in prize money for their business ideas.
During the annual competition, students pitch their ideas to a panel of judges. This year’s panel of judges were Ugur Uygur, associate professor and director of Loyola’s Ignite Lab; Jason Jacobson, founder of Propellant Ventures; and Hans Nelson, co-founder/president of Inspire11.
Read more about the winning business ideas below.
First Place: Olivia Redmond (The Clutch)
A sophomore social work major with entrepreneurship and marketing minors, Olivia Redmond (BA ’26) was inspired while riding the L train to Loyola’s Water Tower Campus. Redmond noticed that all the seats were occupied, and standing passengers had taken all the available handholds on the poles. One taller man reached up and put his hands on the ceiling to steady himself.
“No matter the space, you have a place,” Redmond says, referring to the slogan for her product, named The Clutch, and the function it provides for people. The Clutch is a device made for public transit that has a suction feature to connect to the wall, ceiling, or any flat surface on public transit to help avoid germs and aid balance. The Clutch is adorned with two prongs designed to connect to any pole, and a carabiner for easy transport. Redmond also added an innovative stability function to her product for those who need extra help on sometimes jolty transportation.
“I found that this product, aside from being useful, was a great resource for those who are immunocompromised in the city and have to take CTA to and from work, so my marketing plan reflected that,” says Redmond.
Redmond describes entering the New Venture Pitch Product Competition as intimidating at first, as she felt like all the other participants knew more than her. However, the feedback and guidance from faculty helped Redmond immensely throughout the process.
“George Senick helped a lot with my early adapters and narrowing down my target market, and Ugur Uygur challenged me to think outside of the box and brought up things I didn’t even think about,” she says.
The next step for The Clutch is to work alongside Uygur and Ignite Lab to develop prototypes and get started on the process of distribution.
“The professors at Quinlan have given me a lot of confidence – which is something I struggled with before – to be able to succeed in this competition,” says Redmond. “Getting reassurance and advice from them helped me create a strong pitch.”
Second Place: Riz Zaheer (RIZVISIONS)
Riz Zaheer, a senior at Loyola University Chicago, claimed second place in the competition with his business, RIZVISIONS. This venture stands out by offering specialized social media marketing services for wedding photographers, focusing on creating engaging short-form content to boost their online presence and attract more clients.
Zaheer, who is pursuing a double major in marketing and entrepreneurship, developed RIZVISIONS to address a niche market, using his experience as a content creator with more than 50,000 followers on TikTok. The service provides tiered packages, allowing clients to choose between content creation or full social media management, based on their needs and budget.
The competition was an opportunity for Zaheer to present his business model and receive feedback, helping him refine his approach. Moving forward, he plans to grow RIZVISIONS through a subscription model and by participating in Loyola’s “New Ventures Lab” course, which will help him adapt his services based on customer feedback and market trends.
Mentorship and support from the Quinlan School of Business, especially from faculty like Clinical Professor April Lane Schuster, have been crucial to his journey, says Zaheer.
Third Place: Alexa Velasquez (Luna Liquid Pimple Patch)
Alexa Velasquez (BBA ’27), who is double majoring in marketing and sport management, presented Luna Liquid Pimple Patch. The patch is part of the company D’Tour Beauty, which Velasquez founded and where she now serves as the chief marketing officer.
“D’Tour Beauty is an environmentally friendly, inclusive, and up-and-coming skincare brand,” says Velasquez.
Velasquez and her business partners, Saachi Dhiman, a marketing student at Purdue University, and Talia Leuzzi, a marketing student at Kentucky University, developed D’Tour Beauty’s new product and its pitch throughout the competition.
“Overall, the process gave me a new sense of confidence and taught me a lot of how I can better support my partners and company,” says Velasquez.
She and her business partners plan to fully launch D’Tour Beauty in early 2024.
“We are currently working on finalizing our bottles, labels, and packaging, as well as working closely with our manufacturing company to do the final tests and revisions for our formula,” says Velasquez.