Hamden Resident Wins Entrepreneurship Business Pitch Competition

HAMDEN, CT — Wesleyan University student Eunes Harun, of Hamden, and three teammates recently won the grand prize in the Entrepreneurship Foundation's Business Pitch Competition for their project, "MakingCent$: Creating [in]Dependence." Making Cen$ is a mobile platform that brings needed innovation to financial literacy.

The Entrepreneurship Foundation is a Connecticut-based organization that provides resources to help both educators and entrepreneurs. Harun previously attended Hamden High School.

The students created the app during their GOVT 326: Political Consulting for International Business course at Wesleyan last spring. As part of their classwork, the group compiled a business plan, which evolved into developing an app that tackles this issue. They entered the project in the Entrepreneurship Foundation's Business Pitch Competition, which had two rounds.

First, the students presented a written pitch, advocating for funds for their business. Those selected moved on to complete a 60-90 second video pitch. In the end, MakingCents$ won and garnered a $500 cash prize.

"We found that financial illiteracy is, unsurprisingly, rampant in underdeveloped areas; however, what astounded us is that it's even common within developed communities as well," Harun said. "The lack of financial literacy is causing individuals to face mountains of debt and can cause a spiral into even worse."

Pictured: Eunes Harun '20, of Hamden, Sanya Bery '21, Joey Ellis '19, and Marcia Saetang '19 recently won the Entrepreneurship Foundation's Business Pitch Competition for their project, MakingCents$. Making Cent$ is a mobile platform that brings needed innovation to financial literacy.

Contributed press release and photo