For many entrepreneurs, coming up with a great business idea is an arduous task, and implementing that idea can be even more challenging. Regardless, rising junior management student Jada Samuels has made it all look easy with her natural smoothie company, Jada Juice.

On July 19, Samuels won first place overall and was also voted as the audience favorite at DePaul University’s Pitch Madness event, which was held at the Holtschneider Performance Center. The event hosted student entrepreneur teams from 10 universities from across the Midwest. This is the first time NIU participated in this competition — sponsored and supported by the NIU Office of Innovation in the Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships as well as the College of Business’ De La Vega Innovation Lab.

Jada walked away with a whopping $7,000 — $6,000 for her first-place win and $1,000 for being the audience favorite — to help continue her business.

Jada founded Jada Juice when she was 17 years old in March 2020, after realizing how much a poor diet can influence a person’s health. Through her company, she is determined to help address food insecurity issues in minority communities.

“My mom struggled with migraines and high blood pressure for as long as I can remember” Samuels said. “Once she changed her diet, we began to see progress. I did a lot of research on different fruits and their benefits, and decided to create my own smoothie recipes, each targeting their own specific health benefits. This was when I realized that my community, especially, needed to become more educated on how to naturally maintain healthier lifestyles. My vision is to create generational health within not only minority communities, but across all communities, despite socioeconomic backgrounds.”

Samuels noted that taking part in this competition — as well as the College of Business’ inaugural De La Vega Innovation Pitch Competition in April, where she took home second place — allowed her to discover her own potential.

“Being an entrepreneur can be very challenging, it can be easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself to over-exceed,” Samuels said. “Leading up to the competition, my nerves were sky high. I didn’t know what to expect. Being able to get on that stage and perform with confidence taught me that I could do anything that I put my mind to.

“Entrepreneurship forces us to break out of our shells, because if we don’t, we won’t be able to effectively share our vision with the world.”

Becca Husar, associate director of innovation and partnership development for the College of Business, had the opportunity to mentor Samuels as she prepared her pitch for both competitions. Throughout the process, she was struck by Samuels’ drive for perfection.

“From the moment we selected Jada as one of our NIU students to participate in the University Pitch Madness Competition, Jada immediately got to work writing her script, memorizing her pitch and perfecting her stunning pitch deck,” Husar said. “With every one-on-one meeting we had, Jada did not hold back from asking questions and was receptive to critical feedback or suggestions. Seeing her open-minded and agile work ethic demonstrated the key traits of the entrepreneurial mindset that we are trying to instill in all our students. This hunger for improvement and tenacity in preparation represents the grit and pride of all Huskies.”

While Samuels certainly spent long hours preparing for her pitch, she credits faculty and staff for helping her plan for the event.

“The NIU leadership did an amazing job at making sure I was adequately prepared for both the De La Vega pitch competition, as well as the DePaul Pitch Madness competition. I especially liked the one-on-one sessions where I got the chance to practice in person with the coaches. They did an amazing job at providing guidance and advice throughout the entire process,” she said.

So, what comes next for Jada Juice? After winning two competitions, Samuels has even more confidence in her business. Samuels is working toward establishing the first official Jada Juice smoothie bar in the heart of Chicago while also striving toward continuing to impact young people by making her smoothie products available in school cafeterias around Chicago. Additionally, she is actively pursuing retail partnerships with local grocery stores where she plans to showcase her Jada Juice smoothie popsicles.

Wherever her entrepreneurial path leads her, Samuels feels ready, thanks to the skills she has built in the College of Business.

“While I do value the insights gained from hands-on business experience, I firmly believe that learning essential business fundamentals through college education holds equal significance,” she said. “The NIU College of Business not only provides numerous opportunities to network and establish valuable connections, but it also grants credibility — a crucial attribute for any aspiring business owner.”

NIU was represented by two student businesses, Jada Juice and the ASSIST Project, which was led by students Emily Flynn and Annahi Contreras. Both teams were selected to attend Pitch Madness based on their performances at the Inaugural De La Vega Innovation Lab Pitch Competition this past spring. For the DePaul event, only one team from each school was eligible to make it to the finals, but both teams did a fantastic job representing their businesses and NIU.

As with all business programs at NIU, experiential learning is a key objective in preparing our students for their future careers and ventures.

“Across NIU, academic pursuits can be put into practice with the plethora of resources and cocurricular opportunities that are available,” Husar said. “Jada has taken an active role in her education by pursuing these opportunities. Jada has consistently taken on challenges that have helped her to grow. Students across NIU can grow their confidence and competitive advantage by taking that initiative, asking for opportunities, and pushing themselves out of their comfort zone.”

Once students like Jada pursue these real-world business experiences, they have a more diversified résumé and graduate with the confidence and skills needed to be career-ready.

“Jada’s story is one that reflects the success of many young entrepreneurs and business students in our college,” said Interim Dean Denise Schoenbachler. “Through hard work and a vision for where she wants to go, Jada has been able to take advantage of all the top-notch opportunities and resources available to her and make her dreams a reality. We are so proud of Jada and all our College of Business students who are accomplishing their goals. We cannot wait to see what she does next!