DALLAS, TX — Strategic, young minds were put to the test this morning for a virtual competition. The Dallas Mavericks, the Seth Curry Foundation, mobile banking services provider Chime, and education technology innovator EVERFI, Inc joined a select few of students from Dallas ISD’s Ignite Middle School. The competition was centered around students pitching their ideas who were participants of the educational initiative Venture – Entrepreneurial ExpeditionTM.
On Monday, a preliminary school-wide virtual competition was held and Olivia Brown, Iman Johnson, Roderick Linson, Chloe Mongelli, and Amanda Ruiz were the top five finalists to pitch their brands this morning. Each candidate had three minutes to voice their business plan to a panel of judges.
Students were tasked with building a business plan for a new sneaker brand and would be judged on market evaluation, building a development plan, and bringing awareness of the new sneaker to their local community.
The panel of VIP judges included Dallas Maverick Seth Curry, Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, Chime CMO Melissa Alvarado, and VP of Sports and Entertainment of EVERFI, Inc Veronica Sanders. The judges also evaluated each student’s introduction, general idea, the communities need for the sneaker, pricing, target audience, creativity, and overall presentation.
After careful deliberations, the panel selected Chloe Mongelli as the winner of the virtual competition. Her brand focused on comfort and the ability to cater to people with different types of feet (i.e. high arch, low arch, wide foot, or narrow foot). Curry and Marshall both praised Mongelli for her energy throughout her business pitch and her desire to give back to the community.
As the winner of the competition, Mongelli will receive an ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 Laptop and an Ultimate Fan Experience at a Dallas Mavericks game in the future. All five participants will receive a pair of Curry 7s and a Seth Curry Mavs Swingman Jersey. The competition concludes the year-long curriculum provided digitally to nearly 2,000 middle school students throughout the DFW Metroplex.
