Writer in the Thick of It: 2020

Lawrence Community Works Hosted EforAll

Lawrence Community Works hosted an EforAll Lowell Lawrence pitch contest on Thursday, February 20th. The theme was All Ideas, and indeed the ideas were diverse: ranging from estate planning services and dating coaching to cricket protein and a literary magazine. There was a good crowd there when I arrived and it grew right up until time for the pitches.

Crowd Checking out the Tables

The scheduled pitchers were:

Estate Planning -- Marilenin Vasquez
Magic and Color Co. -- Alicia Tucker
One Wish Project -- Hannah Finn
Salon KrySTYLE -- Krystal Linton
Social Matrix -- Armin Asadishad
Sustainable Food Solutions -- Ken Furuyama

I made my way to as many of the tables as possible and so many of them were of interest to me that I used up my three "Table Favorite" voting stickers really quickly. It is genuinely fun to hear about so many different ideas. Oh, and there was Tripoli pizza too to make it a really fun night.

Salon KrySTYLE

Salon KrySTYLE offers a unique salon experience. Krystal is expert at styling all kinds of textures and cultural/ethnic hair types, for a customized look unique to you. What really differentiates
Salon KrySTYLE from other salons is specialized support for people with special needs, especially working with people who have autism or dementia -- they'll even come to you if you can't get to the salon.

Assemble-and-Match 3D Printed Molecular Models

Assemble-and-Match caught my eye immediately with their table full of 3D-printed molecules. When I got to talk to them, I got even more excited. Their "Assemble-and-Match" tool combines physical and computer-aided modeling techniques in one tool for finding effective drug molecules, making the drug discovery process more systematic and streamlined. I couldn't wait to tell my biochemist niece about it.

Magic and Color Co.

Magic and Color is a both a retail shop and a community for mothers of young children. I like the idea of a store with activities for moms and kids.

Sustainable Food Solutions

Sustainable Food Solutions aims to change the way people eat by producing high quality insect protein with a small ecological footprint. It was enlightening to hear the relationship between eating cricket protein and conserving the planet. I admit I didn't try the sample cricket protein snack, but many folks did try and like them. You can find more information on the Bug Bite Farm Facebook page.

Nvestment NU -- Gary Haywood Motivational Speaker

I enjoyed talking with Gary Haywood about what he offers as a motivational speaker based on the experiences and changes he's made in his own life. I would have liked to hear him pitch. I did give him one of my table favorite stickers.

One Wish Project

One Wish Project provides a custom homemade birthday cake, party decorations and presents to create memorable birthday celebrations for kids living in homeless shelters. Hannah said that her Mom always made sure she and her siblings felt special on their birthdays and she wants to make birthdays feel special for these kids too, despite their living situation.

Exposed Brick Literary Magazine

What a thrill to encounter the folks from Exposed Brick Literary Magazine -- Lawrence's newest literary venture based at El Taller. They won the table favorite voting. I can't wait to see the first issue!

Twilight

Twilight got the wild card slot to pitch their planning services working with young people to get their financial future off to a good start.

Social Matrix -- Dating Coach

Social Matrix coaches men on how to use online dating services/apps in a healthy manner to find the right match.

Cafe

Espresso Cafe's table offered samples of his delicious baked goods and displayed a cardboard model of the proposed cafe.

Marilenin Vasquez -- Estate Planning

I didn't chat with Marilenin Vasquez when I made my table rounds, but I really enjoyed her pitch. There definitely needs to be more emphasis on estate planning. She was first up to pitch and her pitch was well-received by audience and judges.