WKU News

With a foil packet containing seven disposable, one-time use makeup products, entrepreneurship students Allie McCreery and Kyla Ball traveled to Minneapolis for the e-Fest competition, where they competed for $75,000 in prizes to continue their business.

The e-Fest competition is a three-day weekend celebrating 25 student teams who submitted business ideas in an online competition. The duo is the first from WKU to participate in the competition.

McCreery and Ball submitted their idea for SWATCHED, which is a foil packet that contains seven disposable, one-time use pockets of every product needed for a full face of makeup. This product includes: foundation, concealer, bronzer, blush, highlighter, mascara and a disposable mascara wand-- all in four inclusive cream-based shade ranges.

At e-Fest, the group participated in workshops, listened to keynote speakers, and competed in various competitions.

In the first round of the e-Fest competition, students pitched their ideas to at least four judges. Judging panels listened to each team’s pitch and scored each team against a scoring rubric. Each judging panel then selected one of the five teams as a finalist.

The finalists from the preliminary groups went on to pitch to another panel of judges for the second round. After this round, the judges determined who would take first, second and third place. Judges also awarded teams a prize for Best Social Impact and Global Impact.

Dr. Pedro de Oliveira of WKU’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation advised the duo. He traveled with them to Minnesota and had a front row seat to all of the action.

“I highly recommend participating in the EIX E-Fest competition if students ever receive the opportunity,” he said. “Both Allie and Kyla did a great job representing the CEI and WKU. One of the challenges entrepreneurs face is being able to clearly communicate their idea and sell it to a group of investors. We heard from serious VC investors that told us they would probably invest in the SWATCHED idea.”

 “E-fest was an amazing experience and I am so glad we were given the opportunity to be one of the Top 25 teams in the country,” McCreery said.  “Although we didn’t get the outcome we had hoped and work so hard for, it was a great experience. We were able to learn from some amazing entrepreneurs and business leaders in their respective fields. We were also able to meet a lot of student entrepreneurs and make connections with them as well.”

“I am so excited that our students had such a wonderful opportunity to highlight their business idea on a national scale. It showcased their creativity and ability to pitch their ideas. e-Fest is a highly selective competition and even having the opportunity to attend as a team is a significant honor,” said Dr. Whitney Peake, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.