St. John’s Shines at International Pitch Competition

Students representing several St. John’s University colleges demonstrated their skills on a world stage—and placed in the top five—in the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) 2018 Academy Pitch Competition held on Friday, June 29 during the 63rd ICSB World Congress in Taipei, Taiwan.

“I am extremely proud of this accomplishment,” said Katia Passerini, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Professional Studies. “The University’s success in this international competition reflects our commitment to enhance innovation and entrepreneurship on a global scale.”

The St. John’s delegation consisted of five students: Fabian Givens and Jennifer Grocki from the College of Professional Studies, Ariel Metayer from St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Yasmin Lall from The Peter J. Tobin College of Business, and Krist Sokoli from the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.

“St. John’s University is intensifying its effort to expand its offer of entrepreneurship education opportunities for students through international and prestigious partnerships, such as the one with the ICSB, and others currently in development with European universities,” said Luca Iandoli, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Global and Online Programs in the College of Professional Studies and Past President of the ICSB.

Students competed on teams with other US and international students from universities including Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ; National Taipei University of Technology in Taipei, Taiwan; the University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern in Kaiserslautern, Germany; and Aalto University in Aalto, Finland. Mr. Givens, originally from Washington, DC, worked with students from Germany, Taiwan, and Japan.

“St. John’s provided me with the knowledge and professional skills necessary to communicate effectively and make meaningful contributions to the task at hand,” said Mr. Givens ’18GCPS, who graduated in May with a Master of Science degree in Data Mining and Predictive Analytics. His team placed third in the competition for their academic-focused social platform idea. “I learned that to be a true innovator, you must challenge the status quo. Not all innovation is complex; simplicity is brilliance.”

The competition was the culmination of the semester-long St. John’s University Global Development Entrepreneurship Program offered to all undergraduate and graduate students by the College of Professional Studies. Students developed their own entrepreneurial ventures/businesses, enhanced them in connection with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, and pitched their ideas at the international competition in Taiwan.

Ariel, a Government and Politics major, and her team placed second with their concept for natural hair and body products that mirrored the ones made by her Haitian ancestors.

“I grew up in a culture where we make it a priority to take care of our skin and our hair in an organic way, so I wanted to create a line of natural hair and body products,” she said. Her business, “Arie’s Belle Miel,” took home third place in the University’s first “Pitch Johnny” business competition last November.

Her advice to other entrepreneurs is simple—be confident. 

“Whatever you do—have confidence in yourself and your abilities,” she said. “Whenever you commence something, make sure you finish it—and finish strong.”

Students were coached by Kevin James ’11C, ’13MBA, Assistant Dean, and Neil H. Feinstein, Assistant Professor, Division of Mass Communication, College of Professional Studies.

“This was a tremendous experience for the students from so many angles,” said Professor Feinstein. “They were on a global stage pitching their business ideas to professionals in business and academia from all over the world. With this intense pressure, every one of them was a rock star. The icing on the cake? They got to do it in Taiwan.”