The Inaugural SMU Pitch Competition
What to Expect
RISE Co-Founder Carl Firch and former COO Lexie Howell originally envisioned creating a new national case competition that would bring the country's top undergraduate real estate programs to Dallas.
With the support of the Folsom Institute for Real Estate, that vision became a reality. The inaugural competition featured eight participating universities, including an SMU team made up of five RISE students: Cole Records, Kelsey Meehan, Ayaan Sheikh, Vivaan Gupta, and Colin Behrens.
The challenging case centered on a complex, distressed office mezzanine debt scenario, requiring teams to build out comprehensive and creative pitches. In the end, the SMU RISE team made it all the way to the finals, going head-to-head against NYU. Ultimately, they placed first and took home the $5,000 grand prize.
❋ Expert Facilitation❋ A Supportive Space
Participating Schools
Building on the momentum of this inaugural year, RISE and the Folsom Institute intend to establish the competition as an annual fixture — with the ambition of making it the most competitive and sought-after real estate case competition in the nation.
This year's pitches were held at Old Parkland, a campus so meticulously restored and architecturally rich that it feels less like an office park and more like a monument to the built environment itself. For students stepping into real estate, presenting here wasn't just a formality; it was a glimpse of what the industry can aspire to at its finest.
