The Pirates Pitch Startup Competition is held annually and open to all Seton Hall students. The competition is part of the Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s education program. At the event, six finalist student entrepreneur teams pitch to a panel of alumni entrepreneur judges and faculty members for $16,000 in seed funding, plus legal services.
We invite students, faculty, alumni, parents, and members of the community to join us for this incredible night of new ideas. In addition, attendees will have an opportunity to select their favorite business venture and vote for the $500 Audience Choice Award.
This year's Pirates Pitch will be held on Wednesday, April 2, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in University Center Theater. The competition will also be livestreamed. See link below to connect to the 2025 livestream. View last years competition.
About the Competition
The student teams spend several months attending a series of networking and mentoring events and workshops to assist them in turning their innovative and creative ideas into viable business models. The judges evaluate the teams based on their ability to execute their business model and turn it into a viable, profitable business.
Finalist student teams pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges, comprised of successful entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, as they compete for $16,000. All students, faculty, alumni, families and members of the public are invited to attend the event in person or watch the livestream and vote for their favorite team. The Finalist team with the most votes wins the $500 Audience Choice Award. All finalist teams also receive pro bono legal services from the Pirates Pitch contest legal sponsor, OGC Outside General Counsel Solutions. The contest will be held in University Center Theater starting at 6:30 p.m.
The judges will award a 1st place prize of $8,000, a 2nd place prize of $4,500 and a 3rd place prize of $3,000.
Big Thanks to Our Law Firm Sponsorship
CIE thanks attorneys Christopher Santomassimo and Anthony Davis and their staff for providing legal assistance to our Pirates Pitch Finalists.
The following successful alumni entrepreneurs will serve as contest judges: Bryan Jakovcic '09, president and owner, Fusion Health; Gabino Roche,’98, chief executive officer and founder, Saphyre; Shannon D.M. Morris ,’92/M.A. ’94, managing partner, Tent Collective, and founder, The Whistle Company; and Carina Castagna ‘21/M.P.A. ‘22, founder and chief executive officer, Pesto Joe.
Meet the Student Entrepreneurs
- Kevin Abbaszadeh is a Stillman School freshman pursuing a business administration degree with a focus on pre-law studies. He is a founder and chief marketing officer of All In, an app that was recently launched in the Apple App Store. All In is a social media platform where poker players, enthusiasts and fans can share strategies and host games.
- Janice Huang is a junior studying marketing. Her business model, AI Lecture Assist, is an AI powered platform to help college professors to improve lectures and teaching effectiveness while saving time.
- Sahil Khosla is a graduate student pursuing a M.S. in professional accounting. His business idea, ANS Consulting Group, is a service to help small financial investment firms implement and comply with global investment performance standards.
- Jordan Rabadi, a senior majoring in accounting, and Mikayla Salib, a junior majoring in diplomacy, are members of the Buccino Leadership Institute. Their business idea, Shoulder Me, is a mental health wellness social media platform to provide support to police officers because their work is often stressful, which can make them prone to suffering from mental health issues.
- Aaron Stanway, a junior majoring in diplomacy, Maximillian Otto, a senior majoring in diplomacy, Lucas Olaya, a junior majoring in finance and technology, and Karissa Kromminga, a sophomore studying diplomacy, are the founders of Guard Net. Their idea is an innovative social media platform designed to raise awareness about human trafficking and protect people most vulnerable to becoming victims.
- Tania Stokes is an MBA student who is developing a business called Digi Rookie, which is a digital marketing learning platform designed to simplify online marketing for entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs and faith-based brands.