On Friday, the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) is holding its global finalist competition in Washington, D.C. Forty-two student entrepreneur finalists from high school, through graduate school were selected from more than 2,000 international competitors via regional and country-specific competitions. Competitors are pitching their businesses in front of GSEA’s more than 70-person panel, where the winner will receive $20,000 in cash to grow their business while also gaining access to GSEA/EO mentorship opportunities.
The panel will decide which businesses are the most innovative and financially stable, with the greatest potential for market growth.
The two-day competition, located in NW at the Capital Hilton building, began on Thursday at 8 a.m. and will be announcing its winner by 9 p.m. tonight. Founded in 1998, GSEA works to bring global visibility to pioneering student business owners. The event is being hosted by the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), a network of 10,000 business owners in 148 chapters worldwide.
The top five moving on to the final round of the competition were selected last night, and will be competing for the $20,000 prize all afternoon. Here they are:
- Derek Rucki | Canada | TLink – The World’s Lightest GPS Golf Watch. TLink gives you the front, middle, back yardage to the green and has a built-in pedometer
- Alex MacLean | Canada | East Coast Lifestyle – Clothing line. Since its beginnings in March 2013, over 60 NHL players, major actors and celebrities have supported the brand whether they are from Nova Scotia or Florida.
- Gilang Hardian | Indonesia | Anajidan Helmet – Custom leather helmets. The highest quality synthetic leather is used to make these durable and stylish helmets
- Kevin Ng | Singapore | Hyron Infotech Software – Enterprise Software. Uses cloud-based enterprise systems to automate business processes and save money
- Steinar Henskes | Netherlands | Bird Control Group. Provides solutions to keep birds at a safe distance from commercial activities
To follow the competition go to GSEA, or join the conversation on Twitter using the #GSEACompetition and #EONATION hashtags.
