Resident competes in Shark Tank competition at Purchase College

Purchase, NY—Purchase College, SUNY took a page from reality television when they presented their own Startup Pitching Competition on Dec. 4, modeled on the popular ABC show Shark Tank. The competition gave students the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to entrepreneurs and investors. 

Irving resident Meghana Ambati, who is studying Chemistry at Purchase College, was one of the finalists. 

This year's grand prize of $2,500 for new business idea went to Meghana Ambati, an Irving resident, a Chemistry major and Pre-med Studies student, who pitched her idea for "Feeding Greens," a company that will buy produce with mild imperfections, which grocery stores reject, from farmers at a discount rate and will distribute them for sale at discount prices in school systems within communities that are food deserts. 

The award for Purchase Community Enhancement for $1,500 went to Oliver Culliton, a Psychology major whose nonprofit business idea, "Beyond the Blurb," will sponsor a lecture series at Purchase that will focus on student mental health. 

The Audience Favorite Prize for $1,000 went to Everett Currier and Kirry Kaufer. Everett is a MA student in the Entrepreneurship in the Arts program and Kirry is a Creative Writing major. They pitched an idea for "The Den," a student space they would like to create at Purchase that would give students a place to build community by coming together to play board games and have music performances. 

"Shark Tank offers Purchase students incredible opportunities. We have contestants who are already running their small businesses, and the competition provides them with the chance to contemplate scaling up and dreaming big. Additionally, we have students who only have their big idea, and Shark Tank assists them in formalizing it into a doable business plan," said assistant professor of economics, Luliia Chikish, who spearheaded the competition. 

The "sharks" were a diverse group of entrepreneurs who provided invaluable feedback after each student's presentation. 

SOURCE Purchase College, SUNY