College of Business Announces Business Plan Competition Winners
November 17, 2015
JONESBORO – The Arkansas State University 2015 Business Plan Competition once again
has produced some innovative ideas by creative groups of students who earned monetary
prizes for their efforts.
Members of "Beyond Critical," the overall winning team from the College of Business
2015 Business Plan Competition (from left) Derrick Stroh, Alex Goff, Michelle Allen,
Dr. Shane Hunt, Runkun Zhang and Jason Card.
The overall winning plan and most innovative idea is “Beyond Critical,” which includes
students Michelle Allen, Alex Goff, Jason Card, Derrick Stroh and Runkun Zhang. The
group won a total prize of $1,400.
Goff, a chemistry major, originally conceived the idea as he has been researching
how to improve processes for reusing oil. He teamed up with the four other students
and they are working on commercializing the process.
“We do really encourage students from all the colleges to participate in the annual
competition as we have students from five colleges and two campuses participating
this year,” Dr. Erick Chang, associate professor of management said. “Students find
students without faculty interaction. Michelle got Alex, an A-State rugby player,
involved in the competition when the team wanted to have a winning idea, but they
were missing the innovation element. That is why our competition differs from others
as we want students to act and behave entrepreneurially rather than force them to
work on researchers’ or university’s ideas on a for-hire situation. We are different
and that is why we are proud of our results.”
The team received very useful advice from Dr. William Burns, chair of the Department
of Chemistry and Physics and associate professor of chemistry, and Benjamin Goff,
Alex’s father.
The second place team and winner of the elevator pitch include Rebekah Dillon, Hannah
Barnett, Jeffery Martin and Jennifer Myers, who won $750 in prize money. Their business
idea, “Car Seat Comfort,” is a heating/cooling pad that can be attached to a child
car seat. The pad also contains a sensor that can alert if the child is in the seat
or close to the parent. Dillon provided the second win in a row for an Honors student-led
team in the Live Elevator Pitch category.
Third place, worth $300, went to Brittany Berry, Jason Brock, Sarah Dickerson and
Emily Fisher for their concept, “Find Me.” The idea behind “Find Me” involves a micro
global positioning system (GPS) chip that can be attached to different items or even
pets so the user can track it from a smartphone. The main distinction from existing
competitors is the use of GPS technology instead of Bluetooth.
In the freshman video elevator pitch category, the $600 winner is “Rhodes Band,” with
Sarah Pitts, Morgan Krokstrom, Uriel Esparza and faculty adviser Sheena Gammon. The
idea is a band that can be used to track and seek persons who may be suffering from
Alzheimer’s.
Sarah Hoeting, Allison McQuay, Taylor Parket and Wesley Hogan took second place with
“SPOT,” winning $400. The group’s faculty adviser is Dr. Philip Tew. “SPOT” is an
application that can help students find parking spots on campus.
Third place in the freshman elevator pitch category and $300 in prize money went to
“WeCare Package,” with Jennifer Fullen, Morgan Walters, Laiken Kaylor, Ann Philips
and faculty adviser Kerry Tew. The idea is a non-profit organization that will sell
a package of food and supplies to organizations helping homeless, foster homes, soup
kitchens and schools.
A $200 award was also given to Marvin Jones of ASU-Beebe; Sheena Gammon, instructor
of business administration at A-State; and Kerry Tew, program director for the first-year
experience, for the newly created category for faculty advisers.
The other teams competing in the final rounds were also awarded monetary prizes.
Chang commended the efforts of all students who participated in the competition as
the goal is to serve as an example of what students can do when they are motivated
and challenged. Particularly, the freshman competition provides an entry perspective
to what students can do later in their studies.
The teams will be working on finalizing business plans and compete in the 2016 Donald
W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup to defend their state-level competition championship.
