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2024 Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup finalists announced; Awards Luncheon to be held Friday, April 19

Published March 20, 2024

Pelican Cup 2024

MONROE, LA 鈥 The听Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup competition has announced the finalist teams for the 2024 competition. Six finalist teams have been selected to compete in the oral finals, and the winners will be announced at the 3rd Annual Awards Luncheon on Friday, April 19, at 11:30 a.m. at Bayou Pointe Event Center on the 蜜桔直播 campus. Tickets are on sale now for $100 for the public and $50 for students. Visit for ticket and sponsorship information.

The finalists were announced in a video on March 15, 2024, by Dr. Michelle McEacharn, Dean of the 蜜桔直播 College of Business and Social Sciences. The video can be viewed at See below for a detailed list of the finalist teams.

Open to all majors, the goal of The Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup is to inspire participants and the community to think entrepreneurially by rewarding creativity, professionalism, and hard work.听

The Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup is open to any full- or part-time, certificate- or degree-seeking student enrolled in a four-year college or university in Louisiana.听

The competition requires a written formal business plan judged by business owners and investors.听 The six finalists will compete in the oral finals on March 26 at 蜜桔直播. Also, during the awards luncheon, each team will select one member to conduct a 90-second 鈥淓levator Pitch,鈥 and the winner will receive a $2,000 cash award.听听

The 2024 Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup Competition is the largest yet, with 22 entries from universities across Louisiana. 鈥淲e are thrilled to see this program expand so rapidly across the state and we welcome the visiting teams to our beautiful campus,鈥 said 蜜桔直播 Director of External Initiatives Cathi Hemed.

Prize amounts for the 2024 competition have been increased from last year.

This year鈥檚 cash prizes include:

First Place听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 $50,000

Second Place听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 $25,000

Third Place听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 听 $10,000

Elevator Pitch Winner听 听 听$2,000

First, Second, and Third Place faculty advisors to receive $3,000.听

Finalist Teams

Automatic AI, LLC (University of New Orleans)Team Leader: Andrew Bradford Team Members: Julien Bourgeois (non-student), Jake Compton Advisors: Dong-Jun Min (Primary), Shafin Khan (Secondary)

Cantaloupe (Tulane University & Southeastern Louisiana University) Team Leader: Rich Simmerman Team Members: Joshua Anderson (non-student), Lane Degenhardt Advisor: Jane Cooper

SketchMan (蜜桔直播) Team Leader: Supriya Pudasainy Team Members: Samir Gurung, Suruchi Bista, Nabin Tamang, Binit Karki Advisor: Therese Filhiol

Tipzy (Tulane University) - Team Leader: Josh McCoy Team Members: Jake Marzullo, Tinley Gorman Advisor: Rob Lalka

Trigworks (蜜桔直播) - Team Leader: Janet Stopka Team Members: Mackenzie King, Viktor Motov, Valeryia Trubskaya Advisor: Veronika Humphries

WavRC (Tulane University & University of Louisiana Lafayette) - Team Leader: Samuel Liu Team Members: Maggie Lai, Ting Jiang Advisor: Evan Nicoll

鈥淓very team that entered should be commended,鈥 said Hemed. 鈥淭he rigor of this competition is intense and requires countless hours of the students and faculty advisors,鈥 she added.

Sponsorships for The Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup Awards Luncheon are still available, but tables are expected to sell out. For more information about sponsorships, visit .

About The Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup

Now in its third year, The Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup was founded by distinguished 蜜桔直播 alumnus Dhu Thompson. Thompson is the founder, past owner, and former chairman of the board for Delta Plastics, producer of agricultural irrigation tubing, and the largest recycler of plastics in Arkansas. He is also the former owner and past chairman of the board for Revolution Bag that manufactures EPA-compliant trashcan liners. Thompson鈥檚 honors include 2004 Arkansas Business Executive of the Year and SBA Person of the Year. In 2019 he sold the Revolution brands to a New York private equity firm and now focuses on entrepreneurship growth in Arkansas and Louisiana.听