EC Scholar Takes 2nd in 2019 Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge

Two EC Scholar-founded startups took top places in the final round of this year’s Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge (PEC), the Miller School of Entrepreneurship’s signature business pitch competition.

SweetSip finished in second place, garnering $10K in competition earnings. “This company was created through my drive and love for business in high school,” said founder Grace Krell, a freshman. “…When I turned 18, I decided that SweetSip would tackle a problem that was growing in our society: plastic use. I turned to straws because getting rid of them is an easy first step to deducing plastic use. The metal straw is small but mighty!”

Health for People In Need Everywhere (Health4PINE) is a 501c-3 non-profit organization founded by Pranaya Pakala that increases awareness on the importance of mental, social, and physical health amongst teenagers and young adults. The organization took home earnings of $1K and a fourth place ranking in the final round of the challenge. Pranaya’s non-profit recently won ECU’s Hult Prize Challenge and will travel to London this spring to compete for $1M! The Hult Prize is a global social good innovation competition with a goal of solving the world’s most pressing challenges.