January 31, 2019

It was a full-house at Medicine Hat College’s (MHC) Pub Pitch Night on Jan. 28, 2019 at Medicine Hat Brewing Company (MH Brew Co).

Three student entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to a panel of local judges that included Mayor Ted Clugston, MH Brew Co’s Kaiden Vancuren, RBC’s Breanne Williams, and Chris Deering from Deerview Meats.

Top prizes went to business students, James Du Toit and Sydney Campbell. Du Toit received Best Pitch and $500 for his repurposed denim clothing line, and Campbell was voted People’s Choice and given $250 for her food truck company.

For Campbell, the benefit went beyond the monetary prize.

“The conversations and networking opportunities throughout the evening, as well as the opportunity to speak in front of a larger audience and gain experience in handling questions from a panel of judges, was the most beneficial,” says Campbell.

Honoured and excited by the outcome, the student entrepreneur will be taking the feedback to strengthen her business plan and pitch.

“The judges provided valuable feedback that I will be considering as I move ahead, including: a clearer idea of what types of food I will be selling, costs/price and location. Once I’ve made these changes I will hopefully present a similar, yet improved pitch at the next event.”

Christie Wilson, entrepreneur advisor and outreach coordinator for MHC’s Entrepreneur Development Centre (EDC), says she is impressed by the ideas presented and the confidence of the students.

“It was an amazing night that showcased the bright ideas of entrepreneurs in the region. There was a great energy, and awesome feedback and mentorship was shared with the pitch participants. They gained confidence from the experience to move their ideas forward, which is exactly what this event is about.”

The next Pub Pitch Night will be hosted on Apr. 8, 2019 at the local distillery.

“Being able to host the event at Brew Co is amazing. It’s the perfect venue and they are a great partner to work with. We can’t wait to see the innovative ideas that are presented at the next Pub Pitch Night this spring,” says Wilson.

Pub pitch nights are open to the community and local entrepreneurs are welcomed to participate. If you are interested in learning more about this event, email cwilson@mhc.ab.ca or visit www.mhc.ab.ca.