Hello everyone! We are Forevergreen, an idea that was born just 6 months ago in preparation
for our first Big Idea Center pitch competition. We are on a mission to calculate consumers'
environmental impact and help them achieve net neutrality. In this blog post, we will go over our
involvement in the Big Idea Center’s events and how it has helped us grow.
The Beginnings of Forevergreen
Zack Yardley and Jack Pearson had worked together for 5 years at a reforestation and lumber
company and were always coming up with crazy and creative ideas for businesses. With the
deadline of the Big Idea Blitz application approaching, we went back and forth iterating the first
idea which would be Forevergreen, an education platform for users to learn about sustainability
and take action. We submitted our idea to the Big Idea Blitz and we were accepted for a full weekend
of ideation with the help of entrepreneurs in residence (EIRs).
The Big Idea Center Experience
In October 2023, Brothers Jack and Joe Pearson performed the company's first 90-second elevator pitch in front of an audience of other entrepreneurs at Blitz. Though it was a nerve-wracking experience, having this opportunity helped us develop our idea further, and get much-needed feedback. Big Idea Blitz also
included a full 5-minute practice pitch in front of judges from the local Pittsburgh innovation community.
Creating and workshopping this pitch is what helped us prepare for the next program we participated in, the Kuzneski Innovation Cup in November 2023. Again, Forevergreen had to perform a 5-minute
business pitch in front of judges, except this time we competed for prize money. Fortunately,
Zack was able to pitch with us, so the three founding team members all pitched together.
In our pitch, Forevergreen asked the Kuzneski family for $8,400 to help fund the development of the
Forevergreen app, as well as get trees planted in the ground so we can make a positive impact.
We ended up receiving $8,500 in prize money from this competition. We are very grateful for the
opportunity to participate in this competition as this ended up being the first funding that
Forevergreen received.
After the fall semester, we signed up to participate in the Big Idea Competition in Spring 2024. Through this competition, the Big Idea Center provided us with lots of helpful resources and information
about starting a business, as well as performing a pitch. This pitch was 10 minutes long and we
had more time to prepare, so we met with all the EIRs at the Big Idea Center for advice and
feedback on our pitch. The entrepreneurs whom we met through the program were extremely
generous with their time, and all sparked productive discussions. Our assigned 1-on-1 mentor for the
competition, Louis Mennel, was an extremely helpful asset to our team. Louis founded a company based in Pittsburgh called Carbon Compost, an easy way for people to reduce their impact on the
environment by composting their organic waste.
In addition to the pitch, Forevergreen participated in the competition's optional video round, submitting a
marketing video that Jack and Joe created. The video “How to Plant a Tree” showed the Forevergreen team planting 10 trees and offered a brief tutorial on how you can plant a tree yourself.
At the Big Idea Center's End-of-Year Celebration on April 11, the winning teams of the 2024 Big Idea Competition were revealed. Team Forevergreen won a total of $7,000 in prize money — we won 3rd place ($5,000) AND the video round ($2,000)!
Not only was the Big Idea Competition an extraordinary opportunity, but the Big Idea Center made it interesting, educational, and rewarding. The resources, networking opportunities, and funding that the Big Idea Center provided were a great help to our project, and we hope to keep working with the Big
Idea Center in the future.
What’s Next for Forevergreen
Forevergreen is rapidly expanding as we just added 6 new team members. We now have a
devoted tech team who will be helping us build out our platform as an app and website. We are
up to 12 total members all working to make this idea a reality and protect our planet. We are
also going to be offering our first carbon credits on our website very soon as we have been
screening projects and working to purchase our first batch. By the end of Summer 2024, we hope
to launch our platform to invite our first users to calculate their emissions and take action
through habitual changes, planting trees, or purchasing carbon offset credits. We are very
excited and optimistic about the future and are looking forward to generating positive change.
Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs and Innovators
If any other students are reading this and interested in starting their own venture, there are a
few key things we learned that you should keep in mind. First, take advantage of the resources and programs the Big Idea Center provides. Everyone at the BIC are not only knowledgeable but also looks to help students along their innovation and entrepreneurship journey. Next, always try and learn from others. No matter how long you have been working on a project, everyone has a unique perspective that is valuable to consider; it's important to keep an open mind and adapt to the feedback you receive. Lastly, apply to as many opportunities as you can — you will learn something new through each part of the process. Put in the work and put it all on the line; you can never win a grant or a pitch competition if you
never put in your full effort in.
Conclusion
The past 6 months working on our sustainable idea have gone by so fast. From the initial idea in October to having raised over 20k in non-equity financing, it has been a rollercoaster. We have had plenty of interesting conversations, learned so much about startups, and met a lot great
people along the way. We are extremely grateful to the Big Idea Center for their contribution and guidance throughout this process and encourage anyone who has an idea or just wants to learn more
about innovation and entrepreneurship to attend their events and give it a try. You might stumble
upon something truly amazing! Thank you for checking out our blog article and we hope you enjoyed
learning more about our journey. Check out our website to learn more about sustainable living
and keeping the earth Forevergreen.
Forevergreen is an educational service that makes it easier understand your impact on the planet and become carbon neutral by calculating your carbon emissions. Users can calculate their monthly emissions and choose to offset those emissions. Their goal is to provide ease of access for users and trustworthy carbon removal.
Visit the Forevergreen website to track and offset your carbon emissions.
Follow Forevergreen on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X
Connect with Jack Pearson, Joe Pearson, and Zack Yardley on LinkedIn.