Peyton Price, junior marketing and entrepreneurship major, competed in the Pitch business competition placing in the finals more than once. During her first year at Washburn, Price won the title Champion of the 2021 Pitch Competition. In 2022, she was the winner of the Community Innovation Challenge, and she was the first runner-up in the 2023 Pitch Competition.
According to Price, the best way to do well in competitions is being prepared, confident and addressing potential weaknesses from the beginning. After brainstorming ideas, Price suggested many tips for competitors, such as using outlines, starting early and having others observe for improvements to have successful pitches.
“It’s really about being organized and having time management; you need to start thinking of your ideas early. Because when you put so much pressure on yourself, it’s really hard to think of something, and then you just get more and more stressed. And then a lot of people end up doing it the night or the week before. And that’s really not optimal. It does work sometimes, though, but for the most part, it doesn’t. So I would say start early,” Price said.
Price studied abroad in Australia and was equipped with valuable insights and effective tools to elevate her technical capabilities. To talk about how she applied study experiences to a pitch competition topic, she also emphasized finding innovative solutions to existing problems.
“So I had been around the competitions in high school before college. We, my school, would get invited to come and watch the pitch competition. So for years, I had already been watching people pitching, I could see who was going to win, who wasn’t going to win, who was better, who was worse, why they were better, why they were worse, what I should be doing. I found it fun. It’s really good experience. You learn a lot,” Price said.
According to Price, being an audience member at multiple competitions helps students in many different ways and helps them learn the working process and ideas from competitors.
David Price, associate professor of marketing business, who is also the Pitch Competition organizer at Washburn University, shared how he feels about Price. She has extraordinary marketing skills, although she has not had any marketing classes before.
“I gave her help the same as I would any student. But she had to learn a lot more quickly. […] For a young student. So she had to learn very quickly about business. And that’s why I like these competitions, because it teaches students a lot more about business than they would get just in class. […] And it’s not just people, it’s community leaders, business leaders who are very experienced. And that’s a lot of pressure for you, plus you’re competing for money, your pride and titles, and things like that. So she’s, she’s done very well, and certainly proud of her,” Price said.
Although Professor Price is Price’s father, he also helps her with the same information as other students to make a fair studying environment and she made everything in her academic journey based on her true abilities.
Tia Benyshek, coordinator of campus spirit, shared about the time Price was a Washburn cheerleader before she studied abroad in Australia and mentioned that she was a good teammate and was trustworthy as a member of the Washburn Ichabods cheer squad.
“Peyton was an amazing cheerleader. She was a base. She’s really funny, very outgoing. Definitely the kind of personality that we like to have on the cheer team because she’s very, very fun and very responsible. […]. She’s a lot of fun. Good team player,” Benyshek said
Besides academic work, Price is also interested in physical activities to make her college team more balanced and her network more open. Despite her busy and effective college life, Price is also responsible for every activity she participates in.
Price gave the message to Washburn that they should be more confident in their choices, especially the topics they choose to develop in any academic competition. She pointed out the value of experience and making new friends while highlighting the advantages of networking, notoriety, and financial gain. Besides that, observations can also help students identify winning strategies and learn from their mistakes.
Edited by Jeremy Ford, Aja Carter and Cheyenne Hittle
