Four Mercer University students have won an elevator pitch competition held by the Mercer Innovation Center. Their business ideas included an organization to make lacrosse accessible to all children, a Christian clothing brand and multi-use furniture.
The annual competition, open to all Mercer students regardless of their program of study, gives students with innovative business concepts the opportunity to practice pitching in a concise manner. Both undergraduate and graduate winners are chosen and awarded a cash prize.
“Mercer University believes in giving students the resources and opportunities to help build their businesses. Elevator pitch competitions are a great platform for student entrepreneurs to practice their communication skills, build confidence, refine their ideas and receive feedback,” said Dr. Briana Stenard, associate professor of management and entrepreneurship in the School of Business. “I’m incredibly proud of all the students who competed in this year’s elevator pitch competition as they each showcased the courage to share their ideas and the drive to make their visions into reality.”
Senior Maxwell Schutt, an entrepreneurship major, won first place in the 2024 undergraduate competition and a cash prize of $300. Maya Lee, a junior majoring in entrepreneurship, won second place and a prize of $200. The team of Harshan Ragavandar Ramesh and Prabhu Shankar won first place in the graduate competition and a prize of $500.
Schutt pitched Play It Back Lacrosse, an organization that seeks to make lacrosse accessible to children from underserved communities through lacrosse camps, clinics and equipment donations. The low-cost camps and clinics allow children the opportunity to learn lacrosse, develop their skills and build community.
Schutt, who plays for Mercer’s men’s lacrosse team, was inspired by the children he met on various mission trips, including a Mercer On Mission trip to Rwanda. The children he encountered often played games with makeshift balls created from leftover trash.
“That realization fueled my determination to find a way to provide children from less fortunate backgrounds with proper lacrosse equipment,” Schutt said. “Play It Back Lacrosse was born from this desire to bridge that gap and make a difference through the power of sports.”
Schutt’s goal is to launch Play it Back Lacrosse’s first formal outreach project in May 2025 during Mercer On Mission’s Rwanda trip and establish a youth lacrosse league in Macon by fall 2025.
“The name Play It Back Lacrosse reflects the spirit of giving back and creating opportunities for others through the sport of lacrosse,” he said. “This creates a cycle of impact, spreading the love of lacrosse while fostering growth, inclusivity and opportunity globally.”
Lee’s pitch, Heavenly Influenced, is a Christian-based clothing brand that seeks to make faith-based fashion more stylish. She currently creates designs for Heavenly Influenced and has an online storefront.
She said her passion for her brand stems from being raised a Christian and “a desire to reshape the perception of Christian apparel as ‘corny.’”
Lee said her goal is to own a warehouse and operate global pop-up stores, establishing a brand that shows “faith and fashion can indeed go hand-in-hand.” Her designs include hoodies and T-shirts with phrases like “Wise Men Seek God” and “As God’s Princess, I Am Protected.”
“These pieces are more than garments,” she said. “They’re conversation starters and symbols of divine love and purpose.”
Ramesh and Shankar’s pitch, SpaceSaver Pro, is a multi-functional furniture system designed to maximize utility in compact living spaces. The design, which includes a chair and multi-use desk, is engineered to be durable, easy to use and aesthetically pleasing with adjustable features and efficient storage.
Ramesh said the SpaceSaver Pro targets individuals in urban settings or with limited living space. Early in his career as a design engineer, he lived in a small space where maximizing functionality was essential.
“This experience inspired me to design a novel, multi-purpose, space-saving furniture solution to address similar challenges for others,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh and Shankar, who are both pursuing their Master of Science in Business Analytics on Mercer’s Atlanta campus, are currently still developing their prototype and hope to gather feedback before successfully launching the product.
