Making business ideas a reality
As the entry deadline approaches for Pitch Fest 2020 at Clark College, last year’s winners say participating in the Shark Tank-like competition sponsored by Clark Entrepreneurs made an enormous difference in moving their business to the next level.
Teams of Clark College students are invited to apply for an opportunity to pitch their entrepreneurial business ideas at Pitch Fest 2020. The competition is open to any Clark College students enrolled full time from fall 2019 through spring 2020 and who maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA. The deadline to apply is 8:00 p.m. on Friday, January 31. See details and apply online at clarkpitchfest.com/.
Last year, when Clark College students Alison Warlitner and her husband, Scott Warlitner, entered the 2019 Pitch Fest competition, they hoped to glean expert advice from the business-owner judges. The couple recently had begun making CBD-infused bath bombs in their home, marketing them under the business name Cherry River CBD. Ali and Scott advanced to the competition’s final round of top three student businesses—and they won.
Fast-forward one year after its Pitch Fest success. Cherry River CBD has tripled its gross sales, connected with capital investors, and hired their first employee, who markets their products at vendor trade shows. Emboldened by their Pitch Fest success, Ali pitched their business to a Shark Tank producer hearing pitches in Portland. Although they weren’t invited to pitch on camera on the TV show, the experience pushed the Warlitners to keep going. Last summer they were invited to be a sponsor of Portland’s Waterfront Blues Festival. Actor Jim Belushi, who owns a cannabis farm in southern Oregon’s Rogue Valley, hung out in their booth.
Scott, a fine arts student at Clark, will graduate at the end of winter quarter. Ali, a Clark graduate, is pursuing an accounting degree at Washington State University Vancouver and plans to graduate in spring 2021. They live in The Dalles, Oregon, 90 miles from Vancouver. Four days a week, they drive to their classes—90 minutes, each way. Their sons, ages 3 and 5, attend the college’s Child and Family Studies program.
The couple met when both were enlisted in the U.S. Navy in Virginia. After completing active-duty service, they moved to the Pacific Northwest, where Ali grew up. But one thing hampered their new life: Scott suffered from chronic pain due to injuries he sustained while in the military. Originally a nonbeliever in CBD, he was treating it with narcotics prescribed by the VA. But after Scott began taking CBD daily to relieve his pain, he realized the cannabinoids worked, and he stopped taking the narcotics.
This experience led the couple to begin thinking about creating their own CBD business. And, as luck would have it, this is when Ali walked by a poster advertising Pitch Fest outside her math class at Clark College. Enrolling in the contest forced the Warlitners to clearly articulate their business plan, refine their marketing materials, and answer tough questions posed by judges. It also provided them with mentorship from successful entrepreneurs that helped them take the next steps in their business.
“We’re absolutely a success story,” says Ali. “While we would have made those steps eventually, Pitch Fest is the reason we were able to move so quickly in establishing ourselves as a viable business. We wouldn’t be where we were today if not for the help we received from Pitch Fest, Clark College and the Clark Entrepreneurs.”
The Warlitners produce their CBD-infused bath, beauty and wellness products in their home. The hemp oil is grown on Ali’s cousin’s farm in Woodburn, Oregon.
Cherry River has been featured twice in Broccoli, a Portland-based magazine created by and for women who use cannabis. Ali has spoken on a couple of podcasts about being a veteran, a business owner, a full-time college student and a mother of young children.
“I’ve become a sought-after formulator in the cannabis world,” Ali says. “I like to bake. It’s just with different ingredients.”
So far, Ali and Scott have invested all profits back into their company. In 2020, they hope to start paying themselves a salary. They also are considering opening a production facility in Hawaii. Learn more at https://www.cherryriver.net/
About Pitch Fest
January 31 at 8 p.m.: Deadline for Clark College student teams to apply
February 21 from 9 a.m. to noon: Top 24 teams participate in Clark Entrepreneurs trade show at Gaiser Hall Student Center. The free event is open to the public. In the afternoon, the top 12 teams pitch their business ideas to the judges in a format similar to the TV show “Shark Tank.”
March 6 final round: Top 3 teams polish their pitches and present to judges; closed to the public.
About Clark Entrepreneurs
Founded in 2016, Clark Entrepreneurs is a student program under the Associated Students of Clark College. The club welcomes any student interested in starting a business. Its purpose is to encourage and support students with their entrepreneurial ideas and expose them to the resources to help grow ideas, support real student business ventures, and scale businesses. Program Director is Nathan Webster. Student Rebekah Sharp-Regnier recently became marketing event director. Learn more at https://clarkpitchfest.com/about-us/
Read more about the Warlitners and other student veterans in Clark College Foundation’s Partners magazine article.
