Students compete in SoCon Entrepreneurship Challenge at Mercer

The Challenge began in 2022 with the goal of helping students establish a business or non-profit, by fine-tuning their skills and networking with industry professionals.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Student entrepreneurs from schools from across the southeast met in Macon for a chance to showcase their business ideas and compete for a grand prize.

Teams of aspiring entrepreneurs gathered at the Mercer Innovation Center Smisson Complex to pitch business proposals to a panel of judges in this year’s SoCon Entrepreneurship Challenge.

The Challenge began in 2022 with the goal of helping students establish a business or non-profit, by fine-tuning their skills and networking with industry professionals. Southern Conference Commissioner, Jim Schaus, explained how students compete.

“You know it’s kind of like a shark tank competition. It’s very similar where individuals or groups will come up,” Schaus explained. “There are two different parts to that; profit or non-profit, and they present their product or services. It’s really exciting actually!”

This year, the Entrepreneurship Challenge is hosted by Mercer University in Macon. During the competition, participants will get a chance to attend workshops, as well as tour Mercer’s makerspace and fabrication lab.

According to Dr. Julie Petherbridge, Dean of Mercer’s Stetson-Hatcher School of Business, students aren’t required to study business to become entrepreneurs.

“So the Innovation Center here is really that space to collaborate between all of our twelve schools and colleges,” said Dr. Petherbridge. “So we can have a computer science student working with an engineering student with a business student on an entrepreneurship idea.”

Each competing school held their own Entrepreneurship Challenge, where they selected two teams to move on to the semifinal round.

Traffick Jam, the non-profit team selected to represent Mercer, is a student organization geared towards eliminating sex trafficking by educating high school students in the community.

“I think one of the best things that we could gain from today is speaking with these other colleges and other representatives from colleges, and hopefully expanding our brand,” said Mason Mourning, a student entrepreneur with Traffick Jam.

The first place winner will receive a grand prize of $6,000, which will go towards helping them establish their business.

Win or lose, the Entrepreneurship Challenge serves as an opportunity for students to get real world experience and work towards accomplishing their goals.

“I want to see these individuals build and grow and dream big,” said Schaus, “and have an opportunity someday, whether they’re an entrepreneur or wherever they work, is to keep that entrepreneurship spirit in thinking big.”

The final round of the competition is Saturday at noon. The public is invited to attend and vote for their favorite proposal.