Congratulations to the Winners of Wolf Pack LaunchU 2024!
On Thursday, September 5th, after months of dedication and hard work building business plans and ideas, the Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development awarded $30,000 in seed funding to four Loyola University New Orleans-based startups during the Wolf Pack LaunchU finals, presented by Dr. Bobby and Lori Kent Savoie.
Eight finalist teams pitched their ideas to the panel of judges (and a packed audience) Shark Tank-style during the exciting event. After deliberating for nearly an hour, the panel of seven judges chose to award portions of the $30,000 in funding to four teams in order to further develop their businesses and to further encourage them to make their goals a reality.
The 2024 winners are:
RITUALI - $12,000
Founded by Brenna Kane, '10 and MBA '18, RITUALI is a holistic wellness platform that provides personalized matching to a curated network of high-quality practitioners. Mentor: Bill Ellison
Drunk & Board - $7,000
Founded by Austyn Malynn, '24, Drunk & Board is an exciting combination of board game and drinking game that elevates any game night with hilarious conversations and lifelong memories. Mentor: Trent Dang, '02
Hey Hey Honey - $7,000
Founded by Sean Mulligan, '22 and MBA '23, Hey Hey Honey allows people to take the honey they love with them on the go without the fear of a potential mess. Their team works with food scientists and designers to make solid, mess-free honey in convenient and attractive packaging. Mentor: Denny Bro
Gumbo Film Lab - $4,000
Founded by Hayden Parker, '24, Gumbo Film Lab is a local film lab that takes customers film and develops and processes them and plans to expand into placing vending machines in tourist heavy spots and filling them with disposable cameras and film, plus drop-off boxes to have film processed.
The Wolf Pack LaunchU program is open to the entire Loyola New Orleans community, including students, alumni, faculty, staff and parents. This year, 21 teams of entrepreneurs were selected for the annual, five-month program, which included an intensive week-long bootcamp in the spring paired with a series of webinars during the summer during which the teams work on finalizing their concepts and learn about intellectual property, marketing, branding, fundraising and more. Teams work with mentors from the Loyola University alumni network and the New Orleans entrepreneurship ecosystem during the summer, followed by two rounds of pitching for seed money in the fall.
"This year's cohort of Loyola University-based founders - including current students, recent alumni, faculty, staff, and parents - was incredibly diverse and wholly dedicated to their entrepreneurial endeavors," says Sam McCabe, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Community Development, which organizes the Wolf Pack LaunchU program. "The Loyola community is working to set the world on fire and make positive change in their communities, and we are excited to continue to provide resources and programs like Wolf Pack LaunchU and foster the creative and inspiring pursuits of the Wolf Pack."
Missed the fun? Re-watch the pitches on Loyola's YouTube channel, and keep up-to-date with the Center on LinkedIn and Instagram.