The Ignite Institute for Business Innovation will celebrate its 11th year this academic year, reminding that its mission is to equip students with thought leadership, entrepreneurial excellence, and academic research opportunities. On August 1st, 2024, the Ignite Institute for Business Innovation celebrated its first summer collaboration with TRIO as they welcomed the Peacock Pitch Program.
Throughout this summer program students underwent six workshops where they gained knowledge and confidence in themselves as well as the world of business. Here students became entrepreneurs and used their creativity, research, and communication skills to create a one-of-a -a-kind product that they pitched in front of faculty, parents, and peers.
Below are the Peacock Pitch Participants:
- First Place Winner MedMaps: Kamil, Pamela, Darrien, Najeei, Jack
- Gentle Threads: Bella, Ashley, Sarai, Serge
- Auto Pulse Pressure: Jenesis, Genesis, Luis, Marcus
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the TRIO family, Ms. Smyth, and Ms. Joyce for collaborating with the Ignite Institute and growing the minds of these new entrepreneurs! Also a big congratulations to all three businesses and welcome to Saint Peter’s University!
Press Credit to Mikayla Carrillo ’26
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On April 25th the Ignite Institute hosted its annual Peacock Pitch Entrepreneurship Competition that brought together creative and business-savvy minds to jump-start their newly found businesses. The participants completed their boot camp and competed to share their amazing business ideas.
Below are the Peacock Pitch Participants:
- Mental Health Summit: Jazmyne Andujar ’24
- Fun Cups: Lazaro Bon Sanchez ‘27
- Mindful Figures: Angela Connell ‘25
- CroJay’s Creations: Jenaya Cruz ‘26
- NCKLO & Company: Nicholas Cruz Reyes ‘25
- Father & Son LLC: Bradley Henry ‘25
- Man Mandir: Jay Pareshbhai Patel ‘26
- LAX Jewelry: Joshua Tenesaca ‘26
- Jen’s Berries: Jennifer Wong ‘24
The Ignite Institute would like to congratulate all participants for their hard work and dedication! It is an honor to announce that the winner of the 2024 Peacock Pitch Program is Jennifer Wong with Jen’s Berries! Jennifer Wong won both rounds of the competition in partnership with Mission 50.
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On April 19th, 2024, Saint Peter’s University had its annual Town and Gown Business Capstone Experience, developed by the Guarani School of Business at Saint Peter’s University and the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce!
The Town and Gown brings together senior-level, honors students with the local Chamber of Commerce members to work on rigorous business consulting projects. These businesses provide students with challenges they are facing and throughout their previous three and a half years gather knowledge from their business curricula to analyze the causes of such challenges and solutions.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce!
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On August 4th, 2023, Saint Peter’s University celebrated the accomplishments of both TRIO and EOF summer program students as they jump-started their experience as a peacock. During this event, the Ignite Institute for Business Innovation teamed up with TRIO to introduce the Peacock Pitch (previously known as Shark Tank).
Within this program students Julia Blok, Adam Badawy, and Omaria Serrano worked with mentors/advisors, Mikayla Carrillo, andEvony Jones, and supervision from Dr. Chanaz Gargouri, to create and pitch a one-of-a-kind product known as Dromemode. Dromemode targets the lives of those who have Down syndrome as well as caregivers, guardians, doctors, and therapists.
Julia Blok, Adam Badawy, and Omaria Serrano have dedicated both their free time and effort within the four-week program to share their creativity, knowledge, and interests with one another to create a life-changing product. Together they have cemented relationships as well as learned the ins and outs of marketing, finances, business planning, and public speaking skills.
Mentors Mikayla Carrillo (a previous winning Peacock Pitch Competitor) and Evony Jones (previous experience with the Peacock Pitch Class Session ) came together to conduct this event by providing guidance and mentorship. Together Mikayla and Evony created weekly lessons to teach the mechanics of what business pitches are. They used past experiences within both Dr. Chanaz Gargouri’s courses as well as the Mission 50 Peacock Pitch Competition to show students that business is more than a general study, it’s a world of creativity and passion.
“My freshman year at Saint Peter’s University opened up more doors than I could’ve ever imagined. Dr. Gargouri saw the real potential and passion I had as a student and introduced me to the Peacock Pitch Program. Who knew that my co-founder and I’s company would win both competitions as well as become a mentor for incoming freshmen? As a rising Sophomore I can’t wait to see the rest of what the world of business has to offer.” – Mikayla Carrillo.
“This has been a surreal experience for me; I have met some amazing people along the way. I was allowed to be a mentor and help the incoming first-year students get started on creating a business. I am grateful for this opportunity and I cannot wait to see what else Saint Peter’s University has to offer.” – Evony Jones.
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The Ignite Institute for Business Innovation completed its 9th annual Peacock Pitch (previously
known as Shark Tank) at Mission 50 in Hoboken on April 12, 2023, with great success. First- place winners Mikayla Carrillo and Yvette Cruz won a grand total of $2,500 as well as moving to the final round of the competition.
On May 1st, Mikayla Carrillo and Yvette Cruz competed against Steven’s Tech University and Hudson County Community College.
The Ignite Institute for Business Innovation is proud to announce that Mikayla Carrillo and Yvette Cruz won first place with a total of $5,000!
The Ignite Institute and the Frank I. Guarini School of Business would like to extend their sincere gratitude to Mission 50 for supporting, hosting, and funding the Entrepreneurship Program and to e-FEST for the generous grant.
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The Ignite Institute for Business Innovation completed its 9th annual Peacock Pitch (previously known as Shark Tank) at Mission 50 in Hoboken on April 12, 2023 with great success. “All participants did an extraordinary job and presented extremely well. I was extremely proud with their level of professionalism knowing that the majority are only freshman students. The process wasn’t easy for all of us but, in the end, it was a job well accomplished,” proclaimed Dr. Chanaz Gargouri, Director of the Ignite Institute.
Former KPMG Dean Mary Kate Naatus, a judge at the event, and Interim Dean John Hammett were both really impressed by the blend of goods and services represented among the student entrepreneurs and pitched to the judges, especially those with innovative components and designs.
According to Lily Arango from the host organization, Mission 50, “Saint Peter’s University Peacock Pitch was a great success. The students demonstrated professionalism, poise, and drive. The business ideas were well organized, true to each team’s passion, and socially conscious. Overall, I was impressed by the students, their entrepreneurship spirit, and their creativity. They should all be very proud of their hard work” Agreeing with everyone, our Guest Judge Dr. Sarah Vandermark added that the students presented their brands confidently, prepared and with enthusiasm and heart.
Their visions were well thought out and we were impressed with their vision of giving back to their communities and self conscience lens. I was honored to be a part of hearing these entrepreneurs’ business presentations and hope to be a part of this in the future.
- 1st Place Award – Yette Cruz & Mikayla Carrillo ’26 $ 2,500
- 2nd Place Award – Anthony Mastandrea’27 $1,500
- Social Impact Award – Atrell Johnson ’26 $600
- Audience Choice Award Yvette Cruz & Mikayla Carrillo ’27 $400
- A Gift Card was awarded to Bradley Henry ’26 for Innovative Idea
- A Gift Card was awarded to Madelyn Reyes Ruiz ’24 for creativity
The Ignite Institute and the Frank I. Guarini School of Business would like to extend their sincere gratitude to Mission 50 for supporting, hosting and funding the Entrepreneurship Program and to e-FEST for the generous grant.
Winners Yvette Cruz & Mikayla Carrillo will compete again on May 1″ at Mission 50 with the possibility of winning an award of $5000. A big thank you to this year’s panel of judges: Dr. Mary Kate Naatus, Mr. Carlos Gutierrez, and our special guest, Dr. Sarah Vandermark.
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The Ignite Institute at Saint Peter’s University hosted EdTech CEO Felix Ortiz III for the Entrepreneurship Speaker Series on November 1. Ortiz’s presentation, “The Journey of Tech Entrepreneurship from a couch in Brooklyn, N.Y. to Silicon Valley and the lessons learned along the way,” included Ortiz’s vision for his company, Viridis, his perseverance through many obstacles and challenges and his passion for helping diverse entrepreneurs access venture capital funding. The event was also sponsored by the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. ]]>
]]>Jersey City, N.J. – August 21, 2019 – Saint Peter’s University today announced that Carlos Miguel Gutierrez, founder and CEO of the strategic advisory firm Highline Point Group, LLC., has been appointed to the position of director of the Ignite Institute at Saint Peter’s University, a Center of Excellence. The Ignite Institute was designed to spark the spirit of entrepreneurship through education, business planning, community-partnered programs and research both on campus and regionally. Read more.
Saint Peter’s University is proud to announce that the Provident Bank Foundation has awarded a $100,000 Signature Grant for 2019 to The Urban Social Impact Incubator of the Ignite Institute, a Center of Excellence at Saint Peter’s. The incubator was designed to boost career advancement opportunities for students while bolstering Jersey City’s small business, nonprofit and social enterprise community. Read more.
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]]>Hard work. Innovation. Charisma. These characteristics wer4e what it took for Saint Peter’s University students to pitch their business ideas to “sharks” at the 5th annual Shark Tank Entrepreneurship Competition earlier this month. The event was sponsored by the Ignite Institute at Saint Peter’s University, &CO Coworking and The Center for Leadership, Engagement and Wellness. Read more