Createur Conference & Pitch Competition Awards $15,000 to Entrepreneurs

The McGraw School of Business at Olivet Nazarene University hosted the second annual Createur Conference & Pitch Competition on April 15-16, 2024. The conference and pitch competition were created to inspire and encourage the Olivet community to engage in entrepreneurial ventures; build connections with faith-driven peers and professionals; identify best practices for start-up businesses; and explore untapped potential business opportunities.

Keynote speakers included "Auntie" Anne Beiler, founder of Auntie Anne's Pretzels; Brett Hagler, CEO and Co-founder of New Story; and Justin Donald, the Lifestyle Investor. Spark Session speakers featured a variety of business owners who spoke on topics including real estate, paying of student loans, investment foundations, AI's role in future creativity, franchising and more.

The two-day event also included a Biz Block party; pop-up retail expo for student startups; Createur Comedy Club performances; ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Crawford Startup Studio; and plenty of time for networking.

According to the social media posts from the School of Business, more than 600 high school and college students, faculty, alumni and invested community members participated in the event, which offered attendees the chance to learn from established entrepreneurs through Spark Sessions and to pitch their own entrepreneurial ideas for the chance to be awarded financial support.

Following initial rounds of pitching their business ideas on Monday afternoon, 10 finalists were selected to move forward in the competition on Tuesday morning. The final pitches were given in front of a large audience in Chalfant Hall and the winners were announced.

For more information on the Createur Conference, visit createur.olivet.edu. Episodes of the Createur Podcast, an ongoing project through the entrepreneurship program in the McGraw School of Business, can be streamed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music and more.