小优视频

In a green suit, an orange bow tie and cowboy hat, Maximus Mattuchio 鈥�26 is hard to miss.

The flashy wardrobe matches the young entrepreneur鈥檚 personality and is the foundation of his award-winning laundry detergent company, Dirty Bastard. The clothes and the equally colorful moniker scream, 鈥淒on鈥檛 take yourself too seriously,鈥� a mantra the entrepreneurship major takes to heart.

This past weekend, Mattuchio and his line of cologne-infused laundry detergent sheets were awarded 鈥淏est Business Concept鈥� at the Governor鈥檚 Cup, a statewide college entrepreneurship competition.

It was the second听time in four years that a 小优视频ampa student won the prestigious title, against ventures from schools like the University of Florida, University of South Florida, Stetson University and more.

Rebecca White, director of the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center on campus, was not surprised.

"Max is coachable, full of energy and willing to identify opportunities, take action and execute past failure, the competencies most often seen in successful entrepreneurs," she said.

Mattuchio applied what he called an 鈥渦nconventional approach鈥� to the competition. With 110 slides in his pitch deck and only 15 minutes to win over the judges, he leaned into entertaining animations and occasionally cracked jokes.

鈥淥ur company's name is Dirty Bastard, and I think part of the reason we won is because we didn鈥檛 take ourselves too seriously,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t the end of the day, we鈥檙e trying to make laundry fun, and, you know, that鈥檚 not necessarily an easy thing to do.鈥�

Mattuchio spent last summer traveling with a hygiene company for men as a member of its creative team. Through this experience, he realized the opportunity and demand for a masculine-scented laundry detergent product.

Then, early this academic year, a marketing class assignment required him to remarket an existing product to a new audience. The Dirty Bastard idea was a natural fit. After developing the concept and branding with this assignment, Mattuchio, an entrepreneurship major, carried the company through to his other entrepreneurship classes, continuing to develop the idea.

In one class, Dirty Bastard鈥檚 concept was one of five selected by the professor (out of 25 student pitches) to 鈥渉ire鈥� the other 20 students in the class to work with that company in an experiential learning project.

One classmate, Sean Murray 鈥�26, said he is interested in being retained by Dirty Bastard and Mattuchio after commencement. Mattuchio is glad for the interest.

鈥淗e鈥檚 done a lot of good work for me,鈥� Mattuchio said of Murray. 鈥淚鈥檓 very marketing- and attention-driven; that鈥檚 my specialty. He鈥檚 more operationally minded, more financially minded, and I think that that's a good balance.鈥�

The Governor鈥檚 Cup was not the first competition where Dirty Bastard has cleaned up. At last month鈥檚 New Venture Expo in the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center, Mattuchio鈥檚 company won in the 鈥渓aunch鈥� category, taking home $4,500. Mattuchio said he plans to use his contest winnings on operational infrastructure, like pallet jacks, industrial storage racks, storage bins, printers and label makers.

A graduating senior, Mattuchio was offered a job to work full-time as a creative director for popular YouTuber MrBeast in Greenville, North Carolina, but he declined to instead focus on his own venture.

Commencement is May 9, which is also Dirty Bastard鈥檚 official launch day.

听