{"id":159522,"date":"2026-06-02T12:06:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T17:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/?p=159522"},"modified":"2026-06-02T12:17:25","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T17:17:25","slug":"olinc-announces-finalists-for-5th-annual-oxford-pitch-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/olinc-announces-finalists-for-5th-annual-oxford-pitch-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"OLinc Announces Finalists for 5th Annual Oxford Pitch Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Oxford Lafayette Incorporated (OLinc)<\/strong>, in partnership with <strong>Innovate Mississippi<\/strong>, the <strong>University of Mississippi<\/strong>, and the <strong>Mississippi Small Business Development Center Network<\/strong>, has announced the finalists for the <strong>5th Annual Oxford Pitch Competition<\/strong> to be held Thursday, June 11, 2026, from 1:00 p.m. \u2013 6:00 p.m. at the <strong>Oxford Conference Center<\/strong>. The public is invited to attend this free event celebrating entrepreneurship, innovation, and small business growth across Mississippi and the Mid-South. The Oxford Pitch Competition serves as one of seven regional qualifying events for <strong>Innovate Mississippi\u2019s CoBuilders Accelerator,<\/strong> a statewide entrepreneurial development program designed to help startup and small business founders grow scalable companies through mentorship, coaching, and access to capital and business resources. This year\u2019s competition will once again feature two tracks \u2014 an SBDC Track focused on traditional and growth-oriented small businesses, and an Innovate Track focused on high-growth and innovation-driven ventures. A total of $25,000 in prize funding will be awarded during the event<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2026 Oxford Pitch Competition Finalists<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SBDC Track<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>OK Thanks!, LLC<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>Erik Hom<\/strong> and <strong>Georgianna Schroeder<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Munchies Chicken and Waffles<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>McClain Schieltz<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Easy Offer Acquisitions<\/strong> \u2014<strong> Nyseer Fullwood-Theodore <\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Custom Threads<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>James \u201cJackson\u201d Parks<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Memphis Sippi<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>Davondre \u201cDre\u201d Bassett<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Innovate Track<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>American Drone Solutions <\/strong>\u2014 <strong>Lt. Col. Leonard Boothe<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Vero Transportation<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>Barrett Lott<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Drape<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>Omeyimi Dimowo<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Interbeat Industries<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>Garrett Bradham<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>PleXene Technologies LLC<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>Keerthin Karthikeyan<\/strong> <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Formenos Industries<\/strong> \u2014 <strong>Ashton Rowland<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Participants will pitch their businesses before a panel of judges representing entrepreneurship, investment, business leadership, and economic development from across the region. \u201cThe diversity of this year\u2019s finalist class really speaks to the entrepreneurial momentum building across Mississippi,\u201d said <strong>Allen Kurr<\/strong>, Vice President of OLinc. \u201cWe have everything from food and apparel businesses to advanced technology, transportation, manufacturing, and drone innovation represented in this competition. That is exactly the type of broad entrepreneurial ecosystem our strategic plan seeks to support and grow.\u201d The Oxford Pitch Competition is part of OLinc\u2019s broader entrepreneurial development strategy, which was identified as a key priority within the <strong>Oxford-Lafayette Strategic Plan<\/strong>. Through partnerships with Innovate Mississippi, the <strong>Mississippi SBDC Network<\/strong>, and the University of Mississippi, OLinc is working to strengthen the region\u2019s innovation pipeline by connecting entrepreneurs to mentorship, capital, technical assistance, and commercialization opportunities. \u201cOur goal is not simply to host an event,\u201d Kurr added. \u201cIt is to help create an environment where entrepreneurs at every level can access opportunity, build companies, and ultimately contribute to long-term economic growth throughout North Mississippi.\u201d In addition to the live pitches and awards presentation, attendees will have opportunities to network with entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, and community partners during the event reception beginning at approximately 4:30 p.m. or directly following the final pitch. The Oxford Pitch Competition will be held at the <strong>Oxford Conference Center<\/strong> located at 102 Ed Perry Blvd., Oxford, Mississippi. For more information about the CoBuilders Program or the Oxford Pitch Competition, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cobuilders.ms\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.cobuilders.ms\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CoBuilders<\/a> Mississippi or contact Allen Kurr at (662) 915-6534 or allen@oxfordms.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>About Oxford Lafayette Incorporated (OLinc)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Oxford Lafayette Incorporated (OLinc) is the economic development organization serving Oxford and Lafayette County, Mississippi. OLinc works to create opportunities for responsible economic investment through business recruitment, entrepreneurial development, workforce partnerships, research commercialization, and support for existing industry. Through its strategic plan, OLinc is focused on positioning Oxford and Lafayette County as a regional hub for entrepreneurs, innovators, and knowledge-based economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"25\" height=\"16\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg?resize=25%2C16\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-14544\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Oxford Lafayette Incorporated (OLinc), in partnership with Innovate Mississippi, the University of Mississippi, and the Mississippi Small Business<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123462,"featured_media":159523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[19,25263],"tags":[34912,6630,34923,34929,34932,34919,34922,34925,34917,22046,34928,34930,34914,7317,34913,34926,34920,26710,34933,34916,34921,5,29876,29971,34915,34918,34931,7505,34911,34934,34927,655,34924],"class_list":["post-159522","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-university-news","tag-5th-annual-oxford-pitch-competition","tag-allen-kurr","tag-american-drone-solutions","tag-ashton-rowland","tag-barrett-lott","tag-custom-threads","tag-davondre-dre-bassett","tag-drape","tag-easy-offer-acquisitions","tag-erik-hom","tag-formenos-industries","tag-garrett-bradham","tag-georgianna-schroeder","tag-innovate-mississippi","tag-innovate-mississippis-cobuilders-accelerator","tag-interbeat-industries","tag-james-jackson-parks","tag-keerthin-karthikeyan","tag-lt-col-leonard-boothe","tag-mcclain-schieltz","tag-memphis-sippi","tag-mississippi","tag-mississippi-sbdc-network","tag-mississippi-small-business-development-center-network","tag-munchies-chicken-and-waffles","tag-nyseer-fullwood-theodore","tag-omeyimi-dimowo","tag-oxford-conference-center","tag-oxford-lafayette-incorporated-olinc","tag-oxford-lafayette-strategic-plan","tag-plexene-technologies-llc","tag-university-of-mississippi","tag-vero-transportation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/post1.png?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159522","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123462"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159522"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159522\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159526,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159522\/revisions\/159526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159522"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159522"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159522"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}