Correspondent photo / Sean Barron
McStowe, 22, a Youngstown State University freshman, and Noah Bowman, her boyfriend and business partner, hold awards they won during YSU’s third annual Penguin Shark Tank event. McStowe has a business called TallowTalk, which sells skin care products.

YOUNGSTOWN — A few skin problems that Cadence McStowe had dealt with have gone away physically, yet left a positive and impressionable mark on her.

“I struggled with acne and dry patches. Someone told me about beef tallow, and it transformed my skin,” McStowe, 22, a Youngstown State University freshman nursing student, said.

McStowe, who’s also a certified nurse’s aide, used the tallow, blended with various oils, for about a year. The move then led to her creating TallowTalk, a business that sells natural skin care products.

Her business and presentation also left an impression on others, because McStowe and Noah Bowman, her boyfriend and business partner, took home a first-place finish as the Best Established Business. It was one of two categories that made up the third annual YSU Penguin Shark Tank competition Thursday evening in the university’s Williamson College of Business Administration.

The other category was Best Business Idea.

Serving as master of ceremonies was Adam C. Earnheardt, a professor in YSU’s Department of Communication and the university’s general education coordinator.

The competitors, all YSU students, made pitches before a panel of five judges, or “sharks,” who asked them a series of questions after the students had given 5-minute presentations about their businesses and concepts, then judged them accordingly.

For their first-place finish, McStowe and Bowman won $2,500, money they plan to use mainly to expand their product line, she said. McStowe added that, despite inherent risks in maintaining long-term business success, she’s confident in having found a successful niche.

“At the end of the day, life is risky,” she said.

“I’ve always been a supporter of hers. She’s the mastermind when it comes to things like this,” said Bowman, who also is a paramedic and has an interest in the health care industry.

The other three competitors in the Best Business Idea category were Sai Teja Reddy Bokka, a mechanical engineering graduate student who is launching Vigyus, a specialized platform for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education aimed partly at empowering teachers in 21st century classrooms; Jan Harter, a business analytics and economics major who’s developing Grun Rock Concepts, a line of rock-climbing equipment that uses recycled materials; and Nabayt Kilbreab, a computer science and economics major who is working on a stock-trading platform called Velora.

The additional two Best Established Business competitors were Hailey Bonner, a marketing major who created Coastavida Jewelry that sells handmade pieces she crafts that include shells found on Florida beaches; and Alexis Gaetano, a marketing major who started ACG Media Marketing in 2022 with a family friend.

Delivering the keynote address was Stacy Howlett, chief executive officer with Canfield-based Howlett Logistics, an Amazon partner. She also served as one of the “sharks.”

Howlett, who worked a combined 23 years for Verizon Wireless and Western Union, told the competitors and audience of a few hundred that most people tend to “follow a path that has already been paved.” Howlett added that even though her family lacked entrepreneurship, her father, who served in the U.S. Navy, instilled in her the importance of punctuality and accountability – both of which she incorporated in her business approach.

Howlett also advised the competitors and budding entrepreneurs to know what they seek to attain; be aware of their cash flows, profit margins and other important numbers; acknowledge their limitations, in part by surrounding themselves with those who have greater expertise in certain aspects of a business; begin with a greater focus on customers’ needs, as opposed to their own ideas; and invest in themselves.

Jackie Ruller, YSU’s director of workforce education and innovation, noted that the Shark Tank event is open to all students of all majors. Before entering the competition, they were required to create a “pitch deck” (PowerPoint presentation), send a video of themselves and show they had collaborated with a mentor on at least one occasion.

In addition, she praised the student competitors for what she viewed as their courage in moving forward in the business world, despite inherent risks.

“I think it’s really brave to try to start your own business, especially for students who are so young,” Ruller said.

Funding for the Shark Tank event was from a Burton D. Morgan Foundation grant, along with the John D. Burgan Entrepreneurship Prize.

YSU Penguin Shark Tank results

BEST BUSINESS IDEA

• First place: Nabayt Kilbreab, Velora

• Second place: Jan Harter, Grun Rock Concepts

• Third place: Sai Teja Reddy Bokka, Vigyus

BEST ESTABLISHED BUSINESS

• First place: Candace McStowe and Noah Bowman, TallowTalk. (Fan Favorite winner)

• Second place: Alexis Gaetano, ACG Media Marketing

• Third place: Hailey Bonner, Coastavida Jewelry