乐播传媒

Senior Ali Rabideau鈥檚 winning idea in the 2017 Bobcat Ventures pitch competition 鈥� worth a tidy $9,000 鈥� grew from a summer job: helping a Lewiston nonprofit make some money growing and selling products made from medicinal herbs and flowers.

Rabideau, a talented organizer and gardener, worked at the Center for Wisdom鈥檚 Women, which provides safe haven and support for at-risk women experiencing homelessness, incarceration, abuse, or addiction.

鈥淭he women can tell you first hand the power of the plants and the products we have to heal the body and spirit,鈥� Rabideau told the judges during her pitch. 鈥淟ast summer, we sold $350 of our first three products鈥� 鈥� calendula salve, calendula tea, and salted herbs. 鈥淲e only had to stop because we ran out of plants.鈥�

The business is called Herban Works, and 鈥渨e have outgrown the garage, so to speak,鈥� said Rabideau, a women and gender studies major from Natick, Mass., as she pitched the business.

She ended her presentation with a personal touch, handing the judges a sample of the salve. 鈥淥pen it and smell it. It鈥檚 really nice,鈥� she said.

Now in its third year, the $15,000 Bobcat Ventures pitch competition is student-run and alumni-judged, with prizes funded by 乐播传媒 alumni and parents. Held on April 1, the day-long event began with President Clayton Spencer hosting a panel discussion with alumni judges, each of whom is in business: Chris Barbin 鈥�93, Ben Schippers 鈥�04, Tasnia Huque 鈥�12, and Reid Christian 鈥�12.

From there, a dozen students made presentations in areas like real estate, music recording, hair care, ride sharing, community-based NGOs, and fine art sales.

鈥淕reat job,鈥� said judge Chris Barbin 鈥�93 after Rabideau鈥檚 winning pitch. 鈥淚 love the idea that you鈥檙e already to market on it.鈥�

Barbin asked Rabideau, whose work at the CWW was funded by the college鈥檚 Harward Summer Civic Fellowship program, about the market penetration she hoped to achieve.聽 鈥淲e hope statewide and nationwide,鈥� she answered, pointing to a similar but national operation, Thistle Farms in Nashville, Tenn., that has 鈥渂een advising and supporting us.鈥�

Fellow judge Ben Schippers 鈥�04 praised Rabideau for how she 鈥渃arried the brand鈥� of the CWW throughout her presentation. 鈥淭hat goes a long way,鈥� he said, noting that 鈥渢he branded product is very strong, as well.鈥�

“Love the mission,鈥� said judge Tasnia Huque 鈥�12, adding that Rabideau social-enterprise angle “is kind of buzzy right now, but it’s on trend, especially the focus on the wellness-in-women space.”

After Rabideau was equivocal when asked, by Schippers, if she would stay in Lewiston after graduation to grow the business, Huque advised her to be more certain when pitching. 鈥淛ust say, 鈥榊es.鈥� You want to project that this is your passion.鈥�

Besides the thrill of seeing that big check come her way during the awards presentation, Rabideau is surprised to see herself in a new way.

鈥淚 never envisioned myself as an entrepreneur,鈥� she said, thanking the college and the Bobcat Ventures team for helping to express a broad definition of entrepreneurship. 鈥淭hey actually came to me and said, 鈥楾his is a social enterprise. This could work. Why don鈥檛 you apply?鈥欌��

Rabideau said that the knitting together of two strong strands of the 乐播传媒 experience 鈥� entrepreneurism and social awareness 鈥� 鈥渨as my favorite part of the experience: Having the kind of work you value brought to life by an entrepreneurship competition.鈥�

Bobcat Ventures awarded cash prizes to three other ideas from the dozen pitches.

Collecting the $4,000 second prize was Julien Lewin 鈥�20 of Seattle, Wash., who pitched an idea for a laptop paper holder that makes it 鈥渆asy to transcribe and read documents.鈥� It鈥檚 superior to competitors, Lewin told the judges, because it holds documents above a laptop, rather than to the side.

The judges awarded two third prizes of $1,000 each. One went to Alexandria Onuoha 鈥�20 of Malden, Mass., and her idea for Manetain Hair Care to fill consumer demand for natural and organic hair products. 鈥淪alons do not cater to natural hair care,鈥� she told the judges.

Ben Nussbaum 鈥�19 of Ridgefield, Conn., pitched an automotive ecommerce idea. Unlike other online car-buying sites, such as Cars.com, Nussbaum said that Autolink would 鈥渄igitalize the local buyer-seller interaction鈥� 鈥� specifically the inspection of a used car, a tricky part of any long-distance car purchase 鈥� to create 鈥渢rue used-car ecommerce.鈥�

鈥淚 thought all the presentations and pitches were great,鈥� Barbin said. 鈥淚 loved the diversity: tech, consumer, non-profit. Just really cool ideas.鈥�

The judging panel comprised Barbin, a 乐播传媒 trustee who is CEO of Appirio, an IT firm based in Indianapolis, Ind.; Schippers, co-founder of HappyFun Corp., a web and mobile app developer based in Brooklyn; and Huque and Reid Christian 鈥�12, associates with Cue Ball Capital and Battery Ventures, respectively.

In closing, Schippers spoke of the nature of entrepreneurial competition.

鈥淯nfortunately, there are a lot of 鈥榥o鈥檚,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淚t comes with the territory. This doesn鈥檛 mean you鈥檙e not doing a good job, or your idea isn鈥檛 great, or it鈥檚 a failure. It鈥檚 part of the entrepreneurial spirit that you just need to keep going.鈥�

Also speaking to the group was one of the founders of Bobcat Ventures in 2015, Matt Perejda 鈥�14. 鈥淲e had a ton of support from 乐播传媒 alumni to get this going,鈥� he said, including trustee emeritus Bruce Stangle 鈥�70.

Keeping Bobcat Ventures strong, Perejda said, reflects support 鈥渇rom the school, the students, the judges 鈥� everyone who puts in the work and gives their time. Life is busy, yet everyone in this room makes it happen.鈥�

The growth of Bobcat Ventures, he said, 鈥渉as been a wild run. We鈥檝e come so far, and I鈥檓 super-excited to see where it can go.鈥�

The student leaders of Bobcat Ventures are Creighton Foulkes 鈥�17 of Belmont, Mass.; El Khansaa Kaddioui 鈥�20 of Elhajeb, Morocco; Edward Moreland 鈥�19 of Monkton, Md.; John Mulach 鈥�17 of Rocky River, Ohio; Phathutshedzo Rambau 鈥�17 of Morebeng, South Africa; and Cristopher Thompson 鈥�19 of Macon, Ga.

Additional reporting by Sarah Rothmann ’19.