Campus Cribs brings it home at Aman Pirate Challenge
A startup that partners with local rental homes and apartments to market their properties directly to college students has won this year’s Aman Pirate Challenge and the $20,000 prize that comes with it.
Campus Cribs is the product of sophomores Quincy McKay and Gavin DeGregorio, junior Stuart Cohen and Ben Casatelli ’24. They bested five other teams at the April 15 showdown at the Murphy Center.
“It feels awesome to win. I was not expecting it at all,” said McKay. “I’m proud of our team, and this will make our success a lot quicker.”
The Gene T. Aman Pirate Challenge is the Miller School of Entrepreneurship’s premier competition. It was renamed in 2024 in memory of Gene Aman ’65. The $3.2 million gift from Helen Aman and family supporting the Miller School allows the entrepreneurship program to provide more opportunities for participation, larger cash gifts and expands its reach and influence across the campus and in eastern North Carolina. With more than $280,000 in cash and prizes awarded this year, it’s the largest competition of its kind in the UNC System.
The idea for Campus Cribs started in an entrepreneurship class taught by College of Business teaching instructor Corey Pulido during the fall 2023 semester.
“I was sitting in class, and at the same time my friends were talking to me about figuring out where to stay off campus and how the process works,” said McKay. “In class, (Pulido) said to come up with a problem and a solution. I came up with a solution at the time called Grid Housing, and since then it has blossomed into Campus Cribs and what it is now.”
Surf Stick Wax, a heat-resistant, sealable applicator for surf wax, was developed byGarrison Miller and Will Jones. They finished as the runner-up and earned $15,000 as well as an in-kind prize worth $1,000 from Radiate Prints.
Kidfit, which uses science-backed programming and a culture of encouragement to help children reach their full potential one gym exercise at a time, finished third and earned $10,000 and won the Rural Community Impact Award, sponsored by First National Bank for another $10,000. Kidfit is run by Greenville native Parker Raven.
The finalists had five minutes to make their pitches to six judges from various business backgrounds, followed by a three-minute question-and-answer session.
The contest has surpassed the $1 million mark in cumulative prizes since the first challenge eight years ago.
“The next step for us is finishing our website,” said McKay. “It’s live, but not 100% perfect. Once we get it perfected, I’m going to market to more homeowners and get their properties on board and start expansion.”