Imagine standing on the pitcher’s mound in a major league baseball stadium, with seven minutes to “pitch” your business idea to real investors on home plate. Could you hit a homerun? A West Virginia University student from the LaunchLab Network did just that in the St. Louis Pitch and Catch Pitch Competition on April 30.
Ethan Ball, a senior Entrepreneurship and Innovation major in the College of Business and Economics was accepted as one of 10 finalists to deliver a seven-minute pitch from the pitcher’s mound at the St. Louis Cardinals ballpark while his PowerPoint was shown from the center field jumbotron. A judging panel of multimillion-dollar investors and successful business owners from multiple industries and backgrounds chose the winners.
Ball placed fourth in the pitch-off. The nerve-racking experience of pitching in front of a stadium of 46,000 seats is a valuable presentation skill Ball will be able to use as he advances his career.
“I am so grateful to the LaunchLab for believing in me and sending me to this national competition,” Ball said. “The contacts made through events like the Catch and Pitch competition will continue to serve as a valuable asset to help me propel my future endeavors. These unique opportunities and the chance to represent our great state on such a grand scale is a true honor and privilege.”
“We are absolutely thrilled and energized that Ethan was chosen to travel to St. Louis for such a high visibility, national competition,” said Carrie White, director of the WVU Morgantown LaunchLab.
Supporting entrepreneurs and innovators on every step of their journey, the LaunchLab Network offers everything from one-on-one mentorship to prototype development facilities, resources and connections to investors.
The LaunchLab is part of the WVU Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship Applied Ecosystem, a university-wide network of centers, offices and programs that fosters and supports innovation and entrepreneurship in WVU students, faculty and staff while engaging the statewide community. A visual map of the full ecosystem and detailed information about the resources included in it can be found at https://ideahub.wvu.edu