Hands-On Business and Entrepreneurship Course Enables Students to Create Innovative Business Plans

For Quintin Neves ’25, it was frustrating when his devices would run out of power – especially when they indicated they had 80 percent of their charge remaining. But he and his classmates saw this problem as an opportunity for innovation.

As part of the project for their BUSA 1000 “Introduction to Business and Entrepreneurship” course, Neves and his teammates developed BatteRead, their proposed battery health and charge reading company. Their idea was to create a translucent strip that would accurately gauge a device’s battery health and charge. Their team placed third in the University’s BUSA pitch competition.

“We wanted to solve the problem of a battery dying without warning by offering a battery reading with a true battery level,” explained Neves, a finance major. “In developing a novel idea like this, we saw the whole process of developing a new item.”

“The basis of the idea is a more effective and portable charger,” added Neves’s teammate Tao Thoma ’23, an esports and gaming major. “It transformed into something that would give a better reading of the charge.”

‘Helped with my presentation skills’

Over the course of the semester, 20 teams of students collaborated to identify a problem and create a business plan to address it. After identifying their competition, they created a sales and marketing plan, then developed a pitch. They outlined their research and their pitch in a poster that highlighted the goals of their proposed company.

BatteRead was one of five teams of students to make it to the final round of the pitch competition. They presented their project as part of the Pompea Business Plan Expo and Pitch Competition, the culminating event of the semester that brings together students of diverse majors, as well as faculty and staff.

Neves and Thoma say it was a team effort, and they are quick to credit their teammate Katherine Pochet ’25 with coming up with the idea for BatteRead.

“I was pleasantly surprised to make it to the final round,” said Pochet, a finance major. “This really helped with my presentation skills.”

“The biggest thing for me was being able to explore creation throughout this project,” said Olivia Roberto ’25, a sport management major and the final member of Team BatteRead. “I learned not to be scared to share your ideas.”

‘A sense of camaraderie’

BatteRead placed third in the pitch competition. The students who pitched Enduro, an electric scooter for students and employees to ride around the University’s campus, earned second place, and those who pitched Drop, a reusable water bottle kiosk and drinkable water locator, captured first place. It was an opportunity for them to build their presentation skills as they pitched their ideas to dozens of members of the University community, including a panel of judges.

Angel Laporte ’24, whose team pitched the electric scooter company Enduro, says working on the project was a great experience.

“I learned so much from this, and I got a sense of camaraderie,” said Laporte, a business management major. “I got close to my teammates and learned a lot about them. I also developed my critical thinking skills, and I’m very proud of what we’ve done.”

‘Something I want to do in the future’

Now in its ninth semester, the pitch competition has enabled approximately 1,100 students to build their business, entrepreneurial, and presentation skills. Nearly 100 students created business plans and pitches this semester, developing ideas that addressed everything from supporting students seeking counseling to an on-campus childcare center.

As part of the event, students also shared their posters outlining their business plans, ideas, and research. They shared their proposals with members of the University community – including judges – and answered questions. Community Fitness, a fitness app that enables users to connect and share workouts and experiences, captured first place in the poster contest.

Students say the course, as well as the hands-on opportunity to develop a business plan and pitch, was a wonderful learning experience, and something they will continue to draw on.

Brandon Ansah ’25, Laporte’s teammate, wants to one day be his own boss. He says this opportunity helped him to build a real foundation for how to develop a business plan.

“This is something I want to do in the future,” said Ansah, a marketing major. “This helped get my feet wet and learn how to be successful. It was a great opportunity for me to understand how all this works.”