On May 1, Oakdale High School hosted the FCPS business competition, Startup Frederick. Participants presented business ideas for a chance to win cash prizes up to $2,100.

Ashley Alt, a member of the Class of 2022, participated in Startup Frederick with an app idea she developed with others at a local Carroll County hackathon. Read that story here.Alt and her team created an app called MedAux that compares the prices for a variety of medical procedures. This app earned the Best Idea award.

At the end of the presentations and scoring, Alt placed in 6th (or 6 or sixth?). Andrew Hicks and Luca Tolino from Oakdale placed in first with their idea Skypix.

A total of 10 groups participated in the startup event. 

The judges for Startup Frederick were Eric Black, Derrick Bowens, Tammy Feaster, and David Gurzick. Black is the Director of Compliance and Risk at Nymeo Federal Credit Union. Nymeo was also the sponsor of the event. Bowens is a CPA and franchise owner at Colbert/Ball Tax Service. Feaster is a veteran HR Manager and has been with Spherion Staffing Services for more than 20 years. Gurzick is Hood College’s Chair of the School of Business and an Associate Professor of Management Science.

Presentations followed a basic guideline, problem, their solution, target market, why people should invest in your idea, advertising plan, revenue model, competition, and business risks. After the ideas were pitched, the four judges were allowed to ask questions to the presenter(s). 

“It was interesting to see other ideas and create my own business,” said Alt.

Alt plans on doing this again next year and developing more skills in business.