ComiCon costumer wins business pitch competition

Five local business owners competed in the Maricopa Center for Entrepreneurship’s first “Pitch Competition” Saturday at Elements Event Center at Ak-Chin Circle.[quote_box_right]Judges:
Christian Price – Mayor, City of Maricopa
Kevin Fort – Director, Central Arizona College Small Business Development Center
Scott Hathcock – CEO, Northern Arizona Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology
Brandon Ames – CEO, AniCell BioTech
Paul Thomas – Executive in Residence, The W.A. Franke College of Business at Northern Arizona University
Kiersten Hathcock— Participant on “Shark Tank” and founder of Mod Mom Furniture[/quote_box_right]

The event allowed entrepreneurs to present their start-ups to a panel of judges for a grand prize of $500, professional branding and social marketing from MCE.

Local retailer, Mythical Garden, received the highest scores from judges and the most votes from the audience after a pitch-turned-fashion-show from co-owners Jenny and Linda Zarogoza and their team of models.

The sisters create and sell cosplay costumes at ComiCon events, as well as through their online store.

The pair said the win means “a new beginning” for the business.

Following suggestions from a few of the judges, the pair plans to open a temporary costume shop online in preparation for Halloween.

“Everybody has been so positive with all of the help that we’ve had,” Linda said.

Second place in the competition was Maricopa resident Derrick Turner’s Mesa-based business, HardCopy Fingerprinting Services.

Turner’s company offers background checks to employers of youth organizations.

“My next step is to, one, keep pitching the business, and two, definitely go after youth organizations and protect the kids basically,” Turner said.

Turner will receive similar services as the first prize winner, including data analytics from MCE.

During the event, participants received certificates for completing a 14-day boot camp challenge prior to the pitch competition.

“The job isn’t just what you performed on the stage, but what it took for you to get here,” said Quintin Baker, MCE director.

As part of the competition, all participants received free social media monitoring and data analytics from MCE for three months

Other competitors included Star Productions AZ, the Maricopa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Copa Shorts Film Fest.

Dance instructor Areece Howard owns Star Productions AZ, a home-based dance studio in Maricopa. She said the lessons learned during the two-week boot camp, although tough, were worth it.

“Setting the business owner aside and thinking of the consumer, that was difficult, but you get to see it from someone else’s eyes,” Howard said.

Frances Soto with the Maricopa Hispanic Chamber of Commerce said learning to gain confidence to pitch on stage was one of the biggest takeaways from the experience.

“I’m going to continue learning about pitches and continue with the chamber, meeting with the board and connecting with other businesses in the city to get the word out that we’re here and not just for Hispanics, but for everyone,” Soto said.

Shelley Gillespie, executive director of Copa Shorts Film Fest, called the process “intensive.”

“I’ve learned I’ve got to get tighter on numbers, but for me it’s about the feeling because we are trying to change people’s lives,” Gillespie said.

The fest launched in February and gives exposure to independent filmmakers. In addition to an annual fest, Gillespie and her husband Roger plan to offer film workshops to keep the momentum going.

Baker said the inaugural pitch competition will most likely lead to more in the future, albeit with a few changes.

“Going forward, we are going to have (the competition) tailored toward not just being prepared for investors, but also being prepared to market yourself, present yourself and get to the meat faster and hopefully have more participants,” Baker said.