A board game haven for players of all abilities and a line of hand-designed press-on nails may seem worlds apart, but the two businesses that won Brock University’s spring Navigate pitch competition have something significant in common: both were born from a gap their founders experienced first-hand.

Second-year Business Administration student Emily Kotyk and community entrepreneur Sarah Godfrey each walked away with a $2,500 prize after impressing judges with their business pitches at the July 22 competition.

The event serves as a capstone for Brock LINC’s 11-week Navigate program, which helps entrepreneurs test and develop early-stage business ideas through mentorship and market research.

Kotyk’s concept, Nine Tails Board Game Tavern, is a board game space where people of all abilities can connect over a range of board games and tabletop games.

Her business idea is inspired by her desire to create spaces for people to meet and connect with strangers and potential new friends.

Local entrepreneur Sarah Godfrey (left) won the community prize while second-year Business Administration student Emily Kotyk won the student prize at the Navigate pitch competition on July 22.

“I was drawn to Navigate because I had a vision but didn’t know where to start. It gave me an opportunity to take the first steps toward bringing my idea to life,” Kotyk says. “Throughout the program, I have learned that people are missing genuine human interaction, and that Nine Tales will be so much more than just a board game tavern. It will be a welcoming community of like-minded people that brings a bit of magic back into our everyday lives.”

Godfrey’s business, Felt Tips, offers press-on nail kits featuring designs created by the accomplished illustrator, whose artistic practice is woven into the product and brand.

She says she started designing nails as a way to solve a problem for herself while expressing her style and creativity in an affordable way.

“Every day someone asked about my nails and where I was getting my press-ons. I realized there was a gap I could fill: offering accessible whimsy to those who find salon prices unattainable,” she says. “The sense of community I’m building around personal style is incredibly fulfilling and Navigate has been an invaluable support system. I can’t thank my cohort and our mentors enough.”

Godfrey and Kotyk’s shared ability to spot a need that others had overlooked was noticed by judges at the pitch competition, as was their focus on building engaged communities of customers to help grow their brands in the future.

“To every person that’s participated in this program — identifying a real problem, building a solution, and standing up in front of a panel to defend it — this is not how most people move through the world. Be proud that you’re trying to make a change and keep going,” said judge Matt Cary (BN ’26, MN ’26, MAG ’23) in his feedback to pitch competition participants. Cary is the founder of Fawkes Consulting and a Brock LINC alumnus.

“Winning a pitch competition is a meaningful milestone, but it’s just the first chapter. The customer discovery work participants do in Navigate lays the foundation for everything that comes next, and we’re proud to support Emily and Sarah as they continue building,” says Brock LINC Entrepreneurship Program Manager Tamara Jensen.

Navigate guides founders through a hands-on customer discovery process that involves talking directly to potential customers, testing assumptions and refining their business ideas based on real feedback. The program runs three times a year and is free and open to Brock students, alumni and members of the broader Niagara community.

“Navigate attracts entrepreneurs from every background and every kind of industry — and that diversity of ideas is one of the program’s greatest strengths,” says Jensen.

Applications for the Fall 2026 Navigate cohort are now open. Those interested can learn more and apply at the Brock LINC website.