Friday, April 9, 2021
4-6 p.m. (CST)
Watch Event Live
Go to live stream siteCreated through the vision and philanthropy of Doug (’94) and Diane (’95) Villhard, this annual competition allows Truman students to compete in an elevator pitch competition.
The finals for the Bulldog B.I.T.E Pitch Competition will allow six Truman students an opportunity to present their concept to a panel of alumni judges. The top three finalists receive cash rewards:
- First Place (Cody Sumter Excellence in Entrepreneurship Award):
$3,000 - Second Place (Amanda Gioia Entrepreneurship Award):
$2,000 - Third Place:
$1,000
Executive Director for University Advancement
Truman State University
President
Truman State University
Meet the Finalists:
Senior, Business Administration: Finance and Management
St. Louis, MO
Sophomore, Business Administration: Marketing
Overland Park, KS
Senior, Business Administration: Management and Marketing
Wentzville, MO
Sophomore, Computer Science and Statistics
Columbia, MO
Sophomore, Business
Kansas City, MO
Senior, Accounting
Kirksville, MO
Meet the Judges:
Judges: Final Round
Amanda Gioia (’93)
V.P/Chief of Staff, Technology Risk Management, Mastercard
Mike Heckman (’99)
CEO and Co-Founder, Rockcreek Way
Marco Ilardi (’99)
Managing Partner, V2 Ventures
Paul J. McCain (’12)
Founder and CEO, Diode Dynamics
Cody Sumter (’10)
Product Manager, Facebook
Judges: Practice Round
Stephanie Mills (’07, ’10)
Co-Owner of Northeast Missouri Properties and Realtor for Century 21 Lifetime Realty
Dr. Rashmi Prasad
Dean – School of Business, Truman State University
Anastasia Tiedemann
Business Counselor, Small Business Development Center/Missouri Rural Enterprise & Innovation Center
Eric Wang (’19)
Owner, Evolve Midwest
Judges: Qualifying Round
Dan Schmidt (’02)
President and Founder, EBCFO
Dane Stangler (’01)
Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Bipartisan Policy Center and Senior Advisor at the Global Entrepreneurship Network
Learn more about the Bulldog BITE Competition