Three area High Schools will be represented at the second annual “First Pitch by FEDCO” event, where five entrepreneurial team entrants will compete for cash prizes sponsored by Fulton County REMC.  Participating schools include Caston, Tippecanoe Valley and Rochester.

On Thursday, March 11, from 9 a.m. – 11:30a.m., at the Rochester Learning Center, the fiveteam finalists (1 from Caston and 2 each from Rochester and Tippecanoe Valley) will have seven minutes to present their business “pitch” to a panel of three judges.  Business Advisors from the North Central Indiana Small Business Development Center have been assisting students with their pitches.  Each pitch will require student entrepreneurs to convey:

Participants’ Names

Business Name

Description of product/service

Tell what made the team interested in this kind of business

Tell why business is feasible and why it will be successful (summary)

Define the business model and how it will make money: target customers, pricing, costs, projected profitability. 

Identify the business’s competitive edge

The judges will then have 6 minutes to ask questions of each participant.

Beginning with the Inaugural event in 2020, FEDCO, through its BizGro program, has coordinated this Fulton Countyentrepreneurial opportunitywith the school systems. 

Amy Beechy, BizGro Coordinator, had this to say about the program, “This year has been challenging with the COVID restrictions and alternative schedules, but the teachers have stayed committed to preparing their students for the competition. The goal of the event is to expose the students to the entrepreneurial process, not necessarily with the view that they “have” to start a business from this experience, but that they gained valuable insights about how they could launch a business.The “First Pitch” is that natural progression from their work with the school’s entrepreneurial instruction, into the next phase of a solid business proposal.”  She went on to say that if they desire to launch the business, winners will have access to FEDCO’s business resources such as business planning classes, workshops, low interest loan funds, and business counseling.

Fulton County REMC is sponsoring the event again this year by offering $1500 in cash prizes to these five finalists.Prizes will be awarded as follows:

1^st Place -        $500

2^nd                   $400

3^rd                          $300

4^th                    $200

5^th                    $100

Due to COVID, this event is not open to the public but will be recorded by RTC for future airing.  For more information, contact Amy Beechy at 574.709.7955.