Elizabeth Perdue wins the WVU Parkersburg’s Pitch Competition Grand Prize of $10,000

 Parkersburg, W.Va. (May 24, 2024) — Elizabeth Perdue, WVU Parkersburg welding student, won the second stage of the Pitch Competition and the $10,000 prize with her idea for a mobile welding business.

The WVU Parkersburg Pitch Competition gives student entrepreneurs an outlet to present their business ideas to community figures with business acumen. The second stage of the competition took place in the WVU Parkersburg Theater on Friday, May 17, 2024. Students competed for a prize of $10,000 and various support services from the college, while presenting their business model canvas and one – and three – year financial projections.

“I’m very grateful to be a part of this and especially thankful to Dr. Jackson, NACCE, the Erickson Foundation, and the Ross Foundation for helping make it possible,” said Charles Almond, C.O. and Charles F. Erickson distinguished faculty chair in Entrepreneurship. “This was a lot more involved than the first stage and I’m very proud of these two teams and what they accomplished in this period. They definitely showcased the best of what our graduates have to offer.”

Two teams competed in the final round of the competition, Perdue, who presented “In a Flash Welding,” a mobile welding business that brings the shop to you; and Devon Dalrymple, student, and his business partner, Preston Metzgar, alumnus, who presented “Destination Tech,” a website building business that also offers website maintenance and social media management.

When asked how it feels to win, Perdue said, “It’s awesome. I don’t think it has sunk in yet, but I’m excited for where this is going to take my business and how quickly I’ll be able to move.”

Perdue said her first step will be buying a multi-process welder for her work truck.

Perdue is a Wirt County native with a passion for welding. The fascination with her high school welding program is what drove her to pursue a degree in the subject. Perdue currently lives at North Bend State Park, where she works as a trail coordinator.

“I was nervous going into the competition,” Metzgar said. “Our competitors had a really good pitch and I think they did very well.”

Metzger is originally from Spencer, but moved to Fairmont after graduation. He is a WVU Parkersburg alumnus, who majored in Computer Science. Metzger works full time in Health Care, while working on Destination Tech in his spare time.

Dalrymple lives in Williamstown, where he graduated from Williamstown High School. Before coming to WVUP and majoring in Software Engineering, Dalrymple took a course in computer repair systems at the Caperton Center for Applied Technology, where he became captivated with the topic.

WVU Parkersburg’s Pitch Competition is in partnership with NACCE’s Everyday Entrepreneur program. For more information about NACCE’s Everyday Entrepreneur program, visit https://www.nacce.com/EEVF