{"id":150599,"date":"2025-07-17T06:26:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T11:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=150599"},"modified":"2025-07-16T22:26:50","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T03:26:50","slug":"ole-miss-student-athlete-wins-sec-startup-contest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/ole-miss-student-athlete-wins-sec-startup-contest\/","title":{"rendered":"Ole Miss Student-Athlete Wins SEC Startup Contest"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cole Piotrowski channels athletic discipline into business innovation with odor-eliminating spray<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By Marvis Herring<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Cole Piotrowski <\/strong>spent years outrunning the competition on the track. Now, the University of Mississippi<\/strong> graduate has outpaced Southeastern Conference<\/strong>‘s business competitors in a different kind of race, a business pitch competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piotrowski<\/a>, who competed in the 800- and 1,500-meter events as well as team relay races for the Ole Miss track and field team, won out over four other finalists in the\u00a0SEC Start Up<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0competition, which aired Monday, July 14, on the SEC Network. It featured student-athletes pitching early-stage businesses to a panel of expert judges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piotrowski’s company,\u00a0Godors<\/strong><\/a>, produces an odor-eliminating spray with a “secret family recipe.” When he was younger, his mother concocted the spray to tackle the stench of Piotrowski’s and his father’s hockey gear in their New York apartment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We lived in a small space in Queens, and the smell of the equipment would take over the whole apartment,” said Piotrowski, who graduated in May with a bachelor’s degree in management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We tried everything \u2013 Lysol, candles, hanging our gear on the balcony to dry out \u2013 and it was like putting a bandage on something that needed full surgery. So, we created our own solution.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Piotrowski’s mother developed the secret blend nearly a decade ago, but the business sat idle for several years before Piotrowski proved that he didn’t need to wait until after graduation to relaunch it. This year, he has rebuilt its website, streamlined operations to reduce costs and taken over production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he prepares for business growth, Piotrowski said winning the competition provides the support needed to launch a social media campaign targeting SEC student-athletes. He believes it promises to provide a huge boost for the business’ visibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n