Published April 14, 2023
MONROE, LA – The 2nd Annual Entrepreneurship Pelican Cup Awards Luncheon will be held Friday, April 21
at 11:30 a.m. at Bayou Pointe Event Center on the ULM campus. Tickets are on sale
now for $100 for the general public and $50 for students. Visit www.ulm.edu/pelicancup for ticket and sponsorship information.
Open to all majors with cash prizes totaling $61,000, The Entrepreneurship Pelican
Cup is the premiere business plan competition for Louisiana. It provides an opportunity
for students to develop critical thinking, team building, presentation, and other
soft skills which are all important to career growth. The goal is to inspire participants and the community to think entrepreneurially by
rewarding creativity, professionalism, and hard work. This year’s competition was
open to undergraduate and graduate students of ULM, VCOM, Grambling State, Louisiana
Tech, Northwestern State, Centenary College, and LSU-Shreveport.
Eighteen teams submitted a written, formal business plan judged by business owners and investors.
Six finalists were chosen for in-person oral presentations, held April 4th at The Hangar on the ULM campus. A 90-second Elevator Pitch competition with an individual
prize of $2,000, will be held live during the luncheon.
This year’s cash prizes include:
First Place $25,000
Second Place $15,000
Third Place $10,000
Elevator Pitch Winner $2,000
First, Second, and Third Place faculty advisors to receive $3,000.
Finalist Teams
E-Com Expert (ULM) – Team Leader: Dharmendra Sharma Team Members: Prabin Basnet, Suman Rai Advisor: Jun Yu, Ph.D.
Explore Mate (ULM) – Team Leader: Thalama Malla Team Members: Prajwol Pachhai, Ramesh Ranabhat, Manish Katuwal Advisor: Joyce Zhou, Ph. D.
Immerse AR (ULM) – Team Leader: Rohan Upadhyay Team Members: Nicholas Soirez, Suruchi Bista, George Khawas, Supreme Dallakoti Advisor: Blake Farman, Ph. D.
GLOBOWL (ULM) - Team Leader: Janet Stopka Team Members: Olaia Becerril Alvarez, Victoria Abrams, Garrett Kahmann Advisor: Veronika Humphries, JD, LLM;
Homeward Bound (ULM/LA Tech) - Team Leader: Benson Kinney Team Member: Brett McGuffee Advisor: Elizabeth Ragland, DBA
Rise & Rotate (Northwestern State) - Team Leader: Matthew Gamble Team Members: Hayden Stanley, Alexander Brown Advisor: Elizabeth Prejean, DBA
Participating Teams
PitchMe (ULM) - Team Leader: Rohan Shrestha Team Members: Nishu Shrestha, Dinesh Chhantyal, Ashamsa Adhikari Advisor: Joyce Zhou, Ph. D.
EcoAg (ULM) - Team Leader: Hanna Flynn Team Members: Nick Sciara, Prajal Prasai Advisor: Blair David
Klotho (ULM) - Team Leader: Pratyush Dulal Team Members: Swoyam Thapa, Abhiyan Singh, Prashant Tiwari, Shubrat Simkhada Advisor: Tawewoo Kim, Ph.D.
The Green Den (Grambling State) - Team Leader: Felix Johnson Team Members: Kobe Sutton, Dynasty Robinson, Mierra Simmons Advisor: Edwin Litolff, Ph.D.
MyFixer (ULM) - Team Leader: Bhetuwal Sagar Team Members: Niraj Shrestha, Nirajan Sangraula, David Basnet, Mahendra Koirala Advisor: Braden Watson
Spotlight Local (ULM) - Team Leader: Alisha Ghatane Team Members: Deepmala Bhomi, Prasansha Paudel Advisor: Joyce Zhou, Ph.D.
Vizio-Air (Grambling State) - Team Leader: Sonelle Casimir Team Members: Shay-Ann Audain, Caesar Catin, Yohan Gregorie Advisor: Prasanthi Sreekumari, Ph.D.
SKRIBE, LLC (ULM) - Team Leader: Cameron Ashley Team Members: Julien Ferrington, Logan Rhodes Advisor: Arturo Rodriguez, DM
Vox-AI (ULM) - Team Leader: Sijan Malla Team Members: Pratik Maharjan, Prinsha Shrestha, Yana Paudel, Nigesh Byanjankar Advisor: Braden Watson
ConnectED (ULM) - Team Leader: Hamid Khan Team Members: Ghofrane Zaidi, Satish Baniya Advisor: Jun Yu, Ph.D.
The TrueScan (Grambling State) - Team Leader: Jhada Carmel Team Members: Lungile Ntuli, Alesia Jackson, Nubia McLaughlin Advisor: Prasanthi Sreekumari, Ph.D.
The crêperie (ULM) - Team Leader: Charlotte Fourdraine Team Members: Annamarie Martin, Carli Grimes Advisor: Joyce Zhou, Ph.D
Preliminary Judges
Shane Middleton, M3 Accounting Services; Chap Breard, MOEbiz; Mary Linda McCann, Bank
of Oak Ridge; Jamie Sheridan-Crawley, CPA, Hulsey, Harwood & Sheridan, LLC; Long Nguyen,
Lumen; Miguel Perez, Plondo Network, Inc.; Kelly Shambro, Progressive Bank; Connor
Ashley, Kennedy Rice Mill, LLC; Tom Nicholson, Strauss Interests; Ash Aulds, Murphy
USA; DeRon L. Talley, MBA, Key Marketing Solutions
Final Round Judges
Dixon W. Abell, Abell LLC dba Poly Processing & Ouachita Fertilizer Company; Susan
Rowland, Origin Bank; William Smart, Monroe Housing Authority; David R. Smith, Entrepreneurial
Accelerator Program, Biomedical Research Foundation; John Mark White, Louisiana Plastic
Industries
Pelican Cup Sponsors
Premier Sponsor and Founder: Dhu Thompson
Catalyst Sponsor: Abell, LLC
Expansion Sponsor: Scott Equipment
Growth Sponsors: Arkansas Capital Corporation, Kennedy Rice Mill/4 Sisters Rice/Neighbors, Entrepreneurial
Accelerator Program, BRIP – The Biomedical Research & Innovation Park, Mid South Extrusion
Breakthrough Sponsors: InterMountain Management, Marsala Beverage, Monroe Chamber of Commerce, Progressive
Bank, ULM Foundation Board, John Rea Realty, 90.3 KEDM Public Radio, Southern Industrial
Contractors, Box Drop Mattress, Monroe Housing Authority, Law Offices of John L. Luffey,
Jr., Holyfield Construction, Inc. Central Oil & Supply, Homeland Bank, Origin Bank
Influencer Sponsors: West Monroe West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce, Owen Corporation, Unique Trophies
& Awards, Inc.
