Entrepreneurs from Milwaukee, Neenah and West Allis all had the chance to pitch their businesses on this week’s episode of “Project Pitch It.”
During episode six of season eight of “Project Pitch It,” the show’s moguls decided to award each presenting entrepreneur with $5,500 in addition to one of three awards, which each come with mentoring.
Evie Mutsch and Kelly Mutsch are the mother-daughter team behind West Allis-based Eco Evie. The company won the Jerry Jendusa BREAKTHRU/UW-Milwaukee Award.
Eco Evie sells clothing made from recycled water bottles while donating 10% of its proceeds to endangered animal conservation efforts. So far, the company has donated over $1,700.
Evie, who was diagnosed with autism when she was two years old, has had an interest in animals her entire life, remembering almost every animal fact she’s ever read.
“That’s her superpower,” said Kelly. “She came up with a list of different endangered animals that she wanted to help.”
Each Eco Evie shirt features a different endangered animal that was hand-picked by Evie. Once an animal is selected, Kelly oversees the design of the shirt, with final approval always coming from Evie. The business sells clothing for men, women and kids.
There’s also an educational component to Eco Evie. Evie and Kelly visit school districts around the state to help educate young people about animals and the importance of recycling.
“The goal is to raise awareness so future generations can behold the wonder of our world,” said Evie. “You don’t realize how valuable something is until it’s gone.”
Buddahfly Prescott and her company, Milwaukee-based Buddah Luv, won this week’s Peg Ann & David Gruber Project Pitch It Award.
Buddah Luv is a vegan catering company that was founded in 2019. After giving up meat, Prescott was saddened by the thought of no longer being able to enjoy her favorite dishes, like fried chicken and ribs. So, she took it upon herself to begin developing vegan recipes. The company’s best-selling item is the “buddah burger,” a Beyond Meat protein patty seasoned by Prescott.
Prescott started her business out of her home, later moving into a commercial kitchen space. She caters several pop-up events and festivals.
“My sales are pretty good,” she said. “I sell out almost every time and I’ve sold thousands of burgers.”
Eventually, Prescott hopes to open her own brick and mortar location. Before she achieves that goal, she would like to get her own food truck.
Entrepreneur Brian Jankowski and his business, Neenah-based Doggy Dupa Leash, was given the We Energies /Milwaukee Admirals Award.
The Doggy Dupa Leash allows pet owners to walk two dogs at once. After seeing his mother constantly becoming frustrated while trying to walk her two dogs, Jankowski, who is a full-time golf instructor, jumped into action.
“She basically asked me, ‘Hey, can you create a leash that doesn’t tangle?’ Several prototypes later, I did,” he said.
The Doggy Dupa Leash uses a patent-pending anti-tangle design so the two leashes will never cross paths. The leashes are made from bungee material, allowing them to stretch and reduce any sort of whiplash effect from a dog pulling on it. The leash also has waste bags stashed into the handle.
For larger dogs, a thicker bungee material is used. This makes it more difficult for them to pull.
Jankowski’s biggest priority for the business is getting the Doggy Dupa Leash into the hands of more dog owners so they’re able to test the product.
“Project Pitch It” airs on WISN-TV Channel 12 in Milwaukee and on TV stations throughout Wisconsin. Those stations include Green Bay (WBAY-TV Channel 2), Madison (WKOW-TV Channel 27), La Crosse (WKBT-TV Channel 8), and Wausau (WSAW/WYOW TV Channel 7). BizTimes Milwaukee is a media partner for “Project Pitch It.”
