SoC Students Become Finalists in Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge 

Congratulations to School of Communication junior Sydney Gilmore and sophomore Amber Lucido for being selected as finalists in East Carolina University’s Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge! Both Gilmore and Lucido are students in the public relations concentration.  

“It was wonderful to learn that we had two finalists from the School of Communication’s Public Relations concentration for the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge,” said Dr. Laura Prividera, acting director for the School of Communication. “Entrepreneurial skills are so valuable to have in this dynamic society and those skills present individuals with a variety of opportunities. The Public Relations curriculum does a great job in fostering creativity and facilitating communication skills for today’s society.”Gilmore’s business is called Syd Vicious Ink, where she creates and publishes adult coloring books. The book series is called “Unorthodox Faces,” and it is intended for older audiences looking to alleviate and expel stress through coloring.

The original idea for the coloring books came to Gilmore in January 2021 while sitting in a restaurant parking lot with her mother. After initially pursuing a beauty product in 2020, she decided that route was not for her and began researching and experimenting with drawing her books. Gilmore’s ultimate dream is to break into the television and animation career fields through her various character designs. 

“This has been the absolute best part of my college experience and a big thank you for allowing me to come this far. It is going to be so amazing to have people who are successful in their respective field invest their time into me,” said Gilmore. “I see this as an amazing opportunity to network and use this as the jump off point for my dreams.” 

Lucido’s product is called Sand-Off, which is a sand-repellent sunscreen that provides Sun Protection Factor (SPF) and aims to be environmentally friendly. With this product, sand is easily wiped off when encountering the body, allowing a safe and easy way to reduce sand after enjoying time at the beach. 

The Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge is the Miller School of Entrepreneurship’s signature business pitch competition. The program has awarded over $200,000 in cash and prizes since 2018. For those interested in next year’s competition, it is open to all teams who have at least one enrolled ECU student.