All these young students demonstrated the true character and spirit of Entrepreneurship.
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. (PRWEB) January 30, 2020
Hot Off Orange County Win, Duo Heads to Silicon Valley for National Competition
First, Orange County. Next, Silicon Valley. That’s the trajectory for Zachary Bostick and Tony Piazza, co-founders of the electronic business card app Send.It. After winning the Entrepreneurs’ Organization annual Orange County Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), Bostick and Piazza are headed to Silicon Valley to represent the region in the organization’s national competition on Feb. 10.
Organized by EO Orange County and co-sponsored with Orange Coast College, Orange County GSEA gave young entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business in a Shark Tank-style format. All students who own and operate a business while attending college were eligible to apply for the Nov. 7 event at Orange Coast College, which drew 70 attendees and participants from five universities.
“The event was a huge success,” said Tony Wong, owner of AirKinetics and EO Orange County GSEA chair. “Zachary and Tony were clear standouts, but we were impressed with every student’s entrepreneurial journey.”
For winning the event, Bostick, Send.it CEO, and Piazza, the startup’s COO, received $2,500 cash, $1,000 in EO business consulting and entry into the GSEA Nationals in Silicon Valley. If they secure another victory there, it’s off to GSEA Global in Cape Town, South Africa, where the top prize is $20,000.
Brittany Evans of Sparkbudz, Johnny Robinson and Sergio Silesky of Orange Window Cleaning, and Bryce Reich of CatalystX were among the other young entrepreneurs who competed in the event.
“All these young students demonstrated the true character and spirit of entrepreneurship,” said Mark Grooms, professor of business at Orange Coast College. “This event is an important step in highlighting their achievements and showing them that other experienced Orange County entrepreneurs are here to support them.”
Orange County GSEA participants pitched their businesses to judges including Keith Fiscus, EOOC president and CEO of Innovative Career Resources; Steve Bender, an EO member who has successfully exited from two technology businesses; Peggy Fort, founder of CMC, Inc. Marketing Agency; Gordon MacLean, partner at RJI International CPAs; and Lisa Nguyen, entrepreneur, TV Host and TEDx speaker. The event was emceed by Ricky Lacorte, 2018 World Champion of Public Speaking Finalist.
For more information, visit http://www.eonetwork.org/orangecounty or email wongt@airkineticsinc.com.
About the Entrepreneurs’ Organization
The Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is a global, peer-to-peer network of more than 14,000 influential business owners with 192 chapters in 59 countries. Founded in 1987, EO is the catalyst that enables leading entrepreneurs to learn and grow, leading to greater success in business and beyond. EO Orange County has 102 members with a combined 5.765 employees.
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