Press "Enter" to skip to content

Fortune favors the Brave (Pitch)

Edible plates. QR-code syllabuses. Uber-able alcohol.

Those were just some of the innovative product and service ideas pitched by 25 students in front of three judges and a room full of peers Wednesday night in Westlake Hall.

Winning first place and a prize of $250, senior interactive game design major Andy Noetzel said his product idea came to him six years ago when working for an electronic repair company.

“I was sitting there working on a Nintendo DS that has two little LED screens, and I held each one up to one eye, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, you can do [virtual reality],” Noetzel said. “I was so excited, and I went to my boss, and I was like, ‘Boss, boss, we can change the world,’ and he was like, ‘No, we don’t do that.'”

Noetzel said the Oculus Rift, a modern virtual reality headset that was generally in line with his idea, came out soon after his realization. However, according to Noetzel, he identified an area where the device could be improved: vision sensitive technology.

“What I’m trying to do is make software that will allow people to interact with virtual reality in a more comfortable way,” Noetzel said. “When we look at virtual reality, we are broadcasting images to each eye, and because we’re doing that … we can customize those images to meet your vision needs.”

Noetzel condensed his software idea into a three-minute presentation and said Brave Pitch gave him a platform to “actually talk to people in a realistic way.”

“This is something that I would love to see Bradley sink their teeth into,” Noetzel said. “I’d be totally cool with the university helping develop this … and ultimately, I’ll probably have to find a computer science major and be like, ‘OK, you’re going to be my [Steve] Woz, and I’ll be your [Steve] Jobs.'”

At the end of the competition, Turner School for Entrepreneurship Managing Director Ken Klotz asked the audience if anyone would like to give an off-the-cuff presentation, and senior electrical engineering major Brian Roskuszka volunteered.

“I’ve worked on start-ups before, and I noticed in previous times that I was [at Brave Pitch], there were a lot of people with great ideas, but then afterward, I never heard anything about future happenings,” Roskuszka said. “I felt like there could be a solution of that. So that came to mind, and me being the exuberant, go-do-it personality that I am, I just stood up and did it.”

Roskuszka’s impromptu pitch presented his services as a start-up business consultant, which is something he said he wants to do on his way to becoming a motivational speaker.

“If anyone wants motivation, an inspiration and someone to be there for them, that is what I would do on my path to be an inspirational speaker,” Roskuszka said.

Earning second place and $100, freshman English education major Jada Stroud pitched a toothbrush with color changing bristles depending on the amount of bacteria on them. In third place, junior electrical engineering major Michael Kuzma received $50 for his pitch on a self-playing guitar interface.

Copyright © 2023, The Scout, Bradley University. All rights reserved.
The Scout is published by members of the student body of Bradley University. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the University.