December 12th was the most coveted and anticipated day for all HSCF Ambassadors, VC PITCH DAY! Our entire Venture Capital Bootcamp Series prepared our STEM entrepreneurs to put together a final pitch for a product within the Bio-Agricultural space. Our STEM Ambassadors from all around the world came together to pitch their ideas to our esteemed panel of judges.
Starting from October to our concluding session in December, our global young STEM entrepreneurs woke up early, stayed after sun-set, and managed through technological challenges, so they could learn from global leaders and build their STEM toolkits in over 10 Saturdays. The determination from each of these leaders was evident.
The judges deliberated for some time on each STEM entrepreneur's pitch based on the 5 categories. Jasmine Davis, SVP at Wells Fargo, who facilitated the Finance 101 session commented during the deliberation, "I'm so proud and impressed by the innovative ideas and professional delivery at such a young age." This was echoed by all of the judges.
Finally, HSCF is happy to announce the winners!
1st Place - Innocenciah N. (South Africa) – Earthy Rooftops ($1000 winner)
Earthy Rooftops will use recycled material to build rooftop gardens in townships and underfunded/high density communities in South Africa. This company plans to promote healthy living in communities before profit!
2nd Place: Derek E. (Washington, D.C.) – GreenThumb ($500 winner)
GreenThumb is an app that connects anyone to independent home gardeners. This allows you to purchase produce from their gardens which provides direct support to local farmers. It's the AirBNB for gardens.
3rd Place: Siphiwe M. (South Africa) – Cyclonic Telescope (Two-month C-Suite mentoring)
Cyclonic Telescope aims to limit the death toll caused by cyclones. As we have seen climates shift globally, some areas are more prone to flooding but have limited technology.
We want to thank all of our VC STEM Entrepreneurs. Those who were finalists will receive a gift certificate and an e-book on financial and entrepreneurship.
Some may ask, why host a boot camp series and pitch day? HSCF understands that entrepreneurship is vital to economic growth especially in today’s ever-changing world. The entrepreneurial space is vast, and it provides a unique area to learn new skills that our young HSCF Ambassadors can add to their STEM Toolkit. This is the overarching aim of our entire @homecamp offering. It takes curiosity and a desire to learn, among other things, if you want to have success in the STEM entrepreneurial space.
We hope our Ambassadors were able to learn something new from our Venture Capital Bootcamp Series as well as learn more about what they want to do, and how their passion for STEM will apply to that.
Again, congratulations to our winners, and all those who chose to attend one or more of our sessions. You invested in yourself, and we look forward to seeing you in 2021!
Contact us at info@hscamps.org if you have any questions.
Happy Holidays!
Global HSCF Team
