McKenna Mackey, a seventh grader from Urbana, Missouri, was declared the Grand Prize Winner of the third annual Youth Entrepreneurship Pitch Challenge on August 1, 2022. Happy Heart Bookmarks, her winning business idea, sells page markers that wrap around the front cover of a book, making them hard to lose.
The competition was launched in January 2020 as a part of the Missouri Afterschool Network’s (MASN) statewide after school youth entrepreneurship initiative. Students K-12 from around the state submitted short videos pitching a new product, service, or technology. The Grand Prize Winner receives a $500 Amazon gift card, a resource bundle, and a scholarship to Venture Lab’s Spark Mentoring Cohort.
“Through this initiative, we want to increase the number of afterschool programs involved in developing Missouri youth into entrepreneurs,” said Mark Cowsert, associate director of policy and partnerships at MASN. “Entrepreneurship is critical to building a future-ready workforce. Afterschool is a great place for youth to explore and learn key skills.”
Mackey was looking for fundraising ideas on Pinterest to finance a trip to Ireland when she came across the simple bookmark design. “All you have to do is sew a button on [the ribbon] and sew a hair tie on and you have a bookmark,” Mackey said. “I have a couple in my top bunkbed because sometimes I read before going to bed.”
She has submitted a new pitch each year since the competition began, and her dog daycare idea was the winner of her grade level last year. Mackey is very involved in her community, which has helped her develop as an entrepreneur. “4-H [Club] is actually how I got started with the entrepreneurship challenge,” Mackey said. “The Springfield Little Theater is actually pretty involved in film too and so I learned a lot about how to create a little budget film that wasn’t terrible.”
Anjana Goli, last year’s Grand Prize Winner, joined the Zoom celebration held on August 1 as a guest speaker. She has further developed her winning idea, RecipEazy, a website that inspires home chefs with online ingredient ordering and customizable recipes. “I’m really happy with the way things are going from the pitch competition and that’s what really fueled all of this,” Goli said. “It started with just a random idea I thought of at 4 p.m. on some random day and now here I am creating a prototype website which is really, really cool.”
Missouri AfterSchool Network Executive Director, Terri Foulkes, summarized, “We are grateful to our sponsors and partners of the 2022 Pitch Challenge including the Charles S. Mott Foundation, Young Entrepreneur Institute at University School, VentureLab, Missouri Chamber Foundation, MOSourceLink, and MU Extension. The Missouri AfterSchool Network coordinates activities like the Pitch Challenge to support high quality afterschool programming for children and youth across the state.”
Sponsors and partners of the 2022 Pitch Challenge include: Charles S. Mott Foundation, Young Entrepreneur Institute at University School, VentureLab, Missouri Chamber Foundation, MOSourceLink, and MU Extension.
2022 PITCH CHALLENGE WINNERS AND FINALISTS
Grand Prize Winner
• McKenna Mackey, Urbana, MO, Happy Heart Bookmarks
Grades 8-9
Winner
• Mady Calhoun, Benton City, MO, SMART Doggie Designs
Finalists
• Brianna Gibbons, Benton City, MO, SMART Entrepreneur Adventures
• Natalie Calhoun, Benton City, MO, PawSome Pet Portraits
Grades 6-7
Winner
• Zeb Wilson, Cape Fair, MO, Zeb’s Pizzaria
