Twenty-eight student-led business plan teams from across the
globe gathered at Washington State University’s (WSU) Carson
College of Business this weekend to compete in the 13th annual WSU
Business Plan Competition.
“It’s invigorating to see the competition grow over the years,”
said Dave Hunt, founder and CEO of Assured Independence and
competition judge. “Not only has the number of teams increased, we
have never seen fiercer competition or more thoughtful proposals.
These student teams have demonstrated entrepreneurial spirit and
business savvy to bring their projects to life.”
WSU teams from the Pullman campus, international teams from
China, Switzerland and Tanzania and Washington high school students
showcased their innovative ideas before panels of academics and
industry professionals.
The top five collegiate teams were awarded prize money, with the
winning team, Go KEFI receiving $15,000. Four high school teams
competed; the winning team, One Stone Photography from Mead High
School in Spokane, won $5,000.
Go KEFI, an experience based travel website, has recently seen
success in other competitions, winning Startup Weekend Spokane and
the Inland Northwest Business Plan Competition. They will continue
their journey next week at the University of Washington Business
Plan Competition’s investment round.
“The Business Plan Competition provides a unique opportunity for
students from diverse majors across campus to come together to
create multidisciplinary teams,” said Marie Mayes, director of the
Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at WSU. “The most successful
teams leverage the diverse perspectives and skills of their
members, which helps them overcome some of the key problems that
can plague startups.”
During the two-day competition, teams were judged on
presentation, developing a solution for a customer problem, value
proposition, competitive advantages, market and sales strategy,
management, financials and offering an investment analysis.
In addition to sponsoring the grand prizes, the Herbert B. Jones
Foundation also sponsored merit awards, which included: best
written plan, best presentation, best technology venture and best
social impact business, each worth $2,500. Several teams had the
opportunity to receive intellectual property consultations through
the support of Lee & Hayes, a law firm in Spokane, Wash, and
consulting services from event sponsor FedIMPACT.
Winners of the high school competition were announced after the
awards gala on Friday, April 24. The 24 collegiate teams selected
to participate in the presentation round pitched their business
plans on Friday, with six teams advancing to the finals on
Saturday. The finalists presented to the judges, who determined the
overall winners. The champions were announced this afternoon at the
competition’s lunch and awards ceremony.
Overall winners for the Business Plan Competition
included:
College League
First place: Go KEFI – Travel website that plans
vacations based off the user’s desired experiences and budget.
Users describe their ideal trip through an interactive survey that
asks about budget, climate, accommodations, travel time, and
desired experiences.Amanda Scott, Monica Bomber, Troy Carpenter,
Derek Hyatt, Travis Person
Second place: Co-Optical – Medical device start-up
creating a non-invasive and continuous blood glucose monitor
offering a painless and convenient alternative to the current
methods used to aid in diabetes management.Samuel Byrd, Zane Duke,
Amber Graviet, Qassem Naim
Third place: Salud! – Counter-top automatic
cocktail machine that enables users to enjoy a variety of
single-serve cocktails without the need to separately purchase
mixers and other ingredients.Mary Blevins, Jonathan Marsh, Steven
McCutcheon, Simbiat Yusuff
Fourth place: Surfacide Solutions LLC – An
antimicrobial coating “[Cu]poxy” that harnesses the natural
antimicrobial properties of copper to proactively and continuously
protect against viral and bacterial transmission from high touch
surfaces.Sam Robertson, Kristin Bryant, Connor Harber, Christina
Crow, Brian Gabriel
Fifth place: SkyScan – Custom, light-weight, power
efficient sense and avoid solutions (SAA) that addresses Federal
Aviation Administration mid-air collision concerns for companies
that develop and operate large, unmanned aerial vehicles commonly
known as drones.Sam Fosberg, Noel Wang, Jeff Epperson, Nicole
Hessner
Honorable Mention: Indy Campers – Modified,
affordable automobiles equipped with camping essentials for
traveling throughout Switzerland’s most sought out-locations.Jokull
Egilsson, Daniel Fridriksson, Hongcun Liu, Maria Thorsdottir,
Grimur Ulfarsson
Herbert B. Jones Foundation Merit Award
Winners:
Best written plan: Go KEFI (description above)
Best presentation: Co-Optical (description
above)
Best technology venture: Neufinity – High-tech
gaming headset allowing users to move in-game characters by
imagining the character’s movement. The headset works by
identifying changes in the brain when the user thinks certain types
of thoughts.Kristopher Perry, Philip Pitts, Megan Caruso, Brian
Senf, Emily Whitehead
Best social impact business: Co-Optical (description
above)
High School League
First place: One Stone Photography – $5,000
prizeKeely Liles – Mead High School
Second place: M&P Batting Cages – $3,500 prizePayton
Utzman, Mike Peterson – Pullman High School
Third place: VolunteerMe – $2,500 prizeRianne
Ellingwood, Kassidy Newsom, Blair Waiting, Conner Breneman –
Riverpoint Academy
Fourth Place: TekMonkey – $1,000 prizeTanmay Garg, Andrew
Bailey – Pullman High School
About the Carson College of Business
The WSU Carson College of Business is accredited across all
business disciplines at the baccalaureate, masters and doctoral
levels by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of
Business. Faculty across disciplines produce scholarly and applied
research at the main campus in Pullman as well as at urban campuses
in Vancouver, Everett and the Tri-Cities. International activities
include academic centers in China and Switzerland as well as
thriving partnerships with several schools around the globe.
Innovative online programs supplement face-to-face offerings.
For more information on Washington State University, Carson
College of Business or the 2015 Business Plan competition, please
visit http://business.wsu.edu/news-events/business-plan/ or contact
Marie Mayes, director of the WSU Center for Entrepreneurial
Studies, at mmayes@wsu.edu.
WSU College of BusinessMarie Mayes,
509-335-5628mmayes@wsu.eduSue McMurray,
509-335-7578sue.mcmurray@wsu.edu