Julia Ing, a business student at Stephens College, attended an intense entrepreneurship lockdown weekend event at EquipmentShare headquarters here in Columbia.
“Missouri Startup Weekend” aims to attract entrepreneurs from across the state and is a competition where teams pitch to a judging panel of local business owners. It lasts over three days, where competitors come up with their idea on Friday and pitch their concept by Sunday.
With over 150 contestants, Julia’s pitch made her a finalist. She teamed up with technology students to discover the ins and outs of her dream.
Julia hopes to create devices that help save people from human trafficking. Her idea was to create wearable devices that alert law enforcement of an individual’s location when activated or removed.
Throughout the weekend, Julia and her team worked around the clock to be able to present her idea to the panel of judges. On Sunday evening, Julia shared her idea with the judges at EquipmentShare.
Adjunct Business Instructor, Willima King, was asked to be one of the mentors during the event and was honored to see Julia’s dedication and hard work.
King added, “Though she was not the winner, to be a finalist among that many contestants was amazing. Stephens College should be proud of this young lady.”