MCLA Community Invited to Vote on Innovation & Entrepreneurship Challenge

NORTH ADAMS — This year, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Innovation & Entrepreneurship Challenge is going virtual, and the MCLA community is invited to serve as judges. The three finalists’ pitches are available to watch and review online. Voting will be open until 9 a.m. on Friday, May 8. Any member of the MCLA community (students, faculty, staff, and alumni) will be eligible to vote once during this period.

The three students who will be pitching their business ideas are seniors David Flight (“Settling the States”), Kimberly Granito (“Detailing Dream”), and Sierra Lamonde (“Pyrography Crafts”).

The students were coached through a series of deliverables — determining the solution to the problem, developing a budget and business plan as the road map for the project or business, and presenting before a panel of judges.

The winners will be announced at 6 p.m. on May 8. The first-place project will be awarded $7,500, second place $5,000, and third place $2,500 toward startup funding to cover inventory, equipment, and marketing for their business.