Mallard Bay, the brand-new outdoor marketplace for booking guided hunting and fishing trips with reputable charters and outfitters, becomes one of about a dozen student-founded companies to win millions in investment dollars and in-kind prizes during an international student startup competition. The Louisiana State University student-founded company won $218,000 during the 2022 Rice Business Plan Competition on April 7-9, 2022.
Only 42 teams competed in the competition at Rice University, narrowed down from more than 400 applicants. Of all the companies, Mallard Bay brought home the fourth most in investments and prizes, including:
- Owl Investment Prize: $65,000
- Softeq Venture Studio Prize: $50,000 cash, $75,000 in-kind prizes
- RBPC Alumnus, Thomas Healy, Investment Prize: $25,000
- Anbarci Family Company Showcase Prize: $1,000
- Semi Finalist Cash Prize: $1,500
- Best Elevator Pitch – Consumer: $500
“We are beyond excited to be recognized among the amazing student businesses in this competition and thrilled to receive this money to continue to build Mallard Bay,” said Logan Meaux, Co-Founder of Mallard Bay. “This company is truly a dream come true, and we can’t wait to see how far it goes.”
Mallard Bay is an Airbnb-style marketplace where sportsmen and guides can connect, transact and book hunting and fishing trips on a frictionless online platform. Mallard Bay also provides back-office solutions to help these businesses showcase their trips, manage their books and accept payments – all in one place. Founded by Logan Meaux and Joel Moreau while students at LSU, the two began building the business and joined forces with fellow Co-Founders Tam Nguyen and Wyatt Mallett.
This is not the first business-plan competition honor for Mallard Bay. While students at LSU, Meaux and his co-founders entered Mallard Bay into the J Terrell Brown Venture Challenge at LSU, where they placed in the top three.
Mallard Bay officially launched in November 2021. You can get more information at MallardBay.com.
About Mallard Bay:
Mallard Bay is a guided hunt booking experience for sportsmen and outfitters. The online marketplace drives bookings for guides, charter captains and outfitter owners, while providing an Airbnb-style experience where sportsmen are offered real-time availability, secure payments, quality assurance and lodging and breakfast along with their guided hunts.
The masterminds behind Mallard Bay – Logan Meaux, Joel Moreau, Tam Nguyen and Wyatt Mallett – dreamed up the idea while attending Louisiana State University and Ole Miss. The team now employs several staff members, most of whom are still students at LSU.
