Panther Cage Match awards both student and community winners for the first time
This year, the Leatherby Center’s annual ‘shark tank-like’ pitch competition debuted its new format welcoming community entrepreneurs both from Chapman and beyond. Pictured: Chapman students Lauren Cho and Mandy Shi won in the competition’s student category with their virtual travel planner, SimplyFly. Photos courtesy of Cynthia West
On April 12, ten teams of entrepreneurs from Chapman and beyond faced off for a cash prize and the chance at invaluable exposure for their budding companies. The arena? The Leatherby Center’s Panther Cage Match.
In a series of messages to the Chapman student body in the weeks leading up to the event, Dean of Students Jerry Price welcomed student entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas to ”investors, industry mavens and successful entrepreneurs” in preparation for the return of Panther Cage Match.
The event, which began in 2015, has traditionally allowed Chapman students to gain exposure and receive mentorship by submitting business proposals before a panel of industry professionals.
This year, Panther Cage Match was opened to the greater community after the Accelerate California CalOSBA Grant was awarded to the Leatherby Center in November 2023. This $1 million grant established the Leatherby Center as an Inclusive Innovation Hub.
Cornelius Hojatkashani won in the community category with his company, LuckyDogBrand.
As an Inclusive Innovation Hub, this funding awarded by the state supports the Leatherby Center’s work in ”fostering entrepreneurship in underserved communities.” Part of this process is expanding programs like Panther Cage Match to include community members outside of Chapman’s student body.
“While promoting economic growth is a primary objective, the Inclusive Innovation Hub’s mission extends beyond innovation to drive diversity, equity and inclusion in the entrepreneurial landscape,” AP News reported.
Another change at the Leatherby Center? Its new director, Cynthia West.
West, who began in June 2023, has overseen the establishment of the CalOSBA Grant at the Leatherby Center and the subsequent expansion of programs like Panther Cage Match.
“One of the things that we did this year in the fall was we had an event where a venture capitalist came in and said, ‘Hey, here’s how you should pitch,’” West told The Panther. This event, PitchCraft, was one of two held to prepare those interested in participating in the Panther Cage Match.
“In December, we did something called Pitch Perfect, where people could come up and do a three-minute pitch,” West said. “It wasn’t a competition, but we had three judges giving feedback. So it was kind of a practice run.”
These are just some of the new enhancements to the Leatherby Center’s programs. West also shared that, prior to starting as director, Panther Cage Match was “sort of every other year.” Now, the event is scheduled to take place annually and will host both Chapman students and community members moving forward.
In terms of scoring, West explained that the event’s eight-judge panel of lawyers, investors and other industry professionals rated each team on eight different criteria. These included the presentation’s clarity, potential value, marketing attractiveness, competitiveness, viability, team capability, financial forecast and exit strategy. She went on to share that the panel judged each team in real-time using StartUp Steroid, an app through one of the Leatherby Center’s collaborators.
An additional feature of this year’s Panther Cage Match was its keynote speaker, Amazon Web Services Operations Leader Colleen Schwab.
Beyond these new elements of the event, West also highlighted its overall success in this first year with the new two-category format.
“We had 43 applicants, and we had to narrow it down to five community teams and five student teams,” West said.
Out of these finalists, one winner was awarded from each category.
Cornelius Hojatkashani, founder of The Lucky Dog Brand, won in the community category. The Lucky Dog Brand markets dog collars with innovative ‘no-tangle’ technology. Hojatkashani is also a member of the Leatherby Center’s Accelerator Cohort.
Like Panther Cage Match, this Mentor Program offered by the Leatherby Center was opened to the community as a result of the CalOSBA grant. These Mentor Programs offer consultation with the Leatherby Center’s Entrepreneurs in Residence (EIRs). The program’s EIRs are industry professionals available to coach and support members of their cohort. As a member of the Accelerator’s Cohort, Hojatkashani received mentorship from Kevin Meredith, an entrepreneurship and innovative business development expert.
Lauren Cho and Mandy Shi, founders of SimplyFly, were named the winners of the student category. SimplyFly is a virtual travel planner designed to work as a digital air travel itinerary with the ability to update information in real time. Cho and Shi are both rising freshmen.
This year, the winning teams from both categories were granted $1,500 each to support their business venture. This cash prize was awarded by the Business Plan Competition Endowment Fund courtesy of Venture Capitalist and Chapman alumnus Keith A Pham.
West is encouraging the community to “really take advantage” of the enhanced events now in effect at the Leatherby Center in the wake of the CalOSBA grant. She concluded by sharing that prospective participants for next year’s Panther Cage Match can “start planning now.” It will take place around the same time next year, with the application window opening eight weeks prior to the event.