“I realized I could have not just a job, but a career in an industry that’s near and dear to my heart,” agricultural communications senior Quincy Freeman said.
Shaun Kahmann
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Quincy Freeman – the 22-year-old agricultural communications senior who won the Ray Scherr Elevator Pitch Competition at Cal Poly — recently took home $5,000 after placing first at the Collegiate Entrepreneurial Organization conference finals in Chicago.
Freeman, a self-described country girl from the Central Valley, won the final round of the competition with her pitch for Quincy Boots, a clothing company that designs western-style boots for both high-end and mainstream markets.
The competition, which hosted 62 schools, asked students from around the country to pitch their ideas for business models. Freeman, who already has five years of experience in the industry, is now working on refining her business model as part of her senior project. Having grown up on a ranch in Reedley, Calif., 50 minutes from the nearest town, Freeman said Chicago was a completely different experience for her.
Her initial interest in design was sparked in high school and evolved further when she came to Cal Poly and got involved with the entrepreneurial program in the Orfalea College of Business. She said it was then when she first realized her ideas could translate into a full-fledged business model.
“I realized I could have not just a job, but a career in an industry that’s near and dear to my heart,” she said.
Quincy Boots, the idea that won her the competition, has become the focus of her senior project. Freeman is currently formulating a business model with entrepreneurship associate professor Jonathan York and hopes to set it into motion.
York said he could tell right away there was something special about Freeman.
“For someone so young, she has a level of drive and determination beyond her years,” York said. “You can tell she knows exactly what she’s doing and how to get where she wants to go.”
Freeman is in her fifth year at Cal Poly and plans to graduate in the winter. She has been in the industry for five years, designing boots and women’s apparel. As a member of the Cal Poly rodeo team, she often wears belts, tassels and other items she designed herself to competitions. Having grown up in a family full of ranchers, Freeman’s lineage is closely tied to rodeos and has competed in them at the national level. Agricultural communications junior Brooke Kieckbusch is a close friend of Freeman’s who first came to know her as a fierce rodeo competitor, playing for rival teams in high school.
“Back then I only knew her competitive side, but learned she is a very genuine, caring and artistic woman,” Kieckbusch said. “At the rodeo, her clothing made her stand out.”
Freeman’s $5,000 winnings at the national level, coupled with the $1,000 she won at the from the pitch competition at Cal Poly has provided seed money for her new venture. She said any money she makes now will be used to help get her business off the ground.
“I never thought it could happen this soon,” Freeman said, “but now with all of the doors that have been opened to me, I feel like my dreams may become a reality. I’m so excited.”