Competing in the Washington State University College of Business’ 12th Annual Business Plan Competition last weekend in Pullman, students from the university and regional high schools, as well as international teams from Tanzania, Switzerland and China, showcased their entrepreneurial ideas and business planning acumen before panels of academics and real-world industry professionals.
“It is rewarding to see students developing their own business ventures that can be turned into economic vitality,” said Eric R. Spangenberg, college dean. “Training future business leaders who have the technology transfer and entrepreneurial skills to transform lives across the globe is core to our land grant mission.”
Of the 24 collegiate finalist teams, five teams were awarded prize money, with the winning team, Ze-hunterS from China receiving $15,000; additionally, four high school teams competed, with the winning team, Art by Chelsea from Spokane, Wash. earning $5,000.
Ze-hunterS from WSU’s international partnership with the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) in Chengdu, China took home the grand prize with their product, the FunMi e-board which allows users to operate a touch screen anywhere, including ordinary white walls.
“The competition showcased the value and international scope of the Entrepreneurship program at WSU,” said Pat Murphy, CEO of Vega Performance Marketing and competition judge. “Ze-hunterS stood out in that they are already marketing an exciting technology which they conceived and built. Their virtually flawless presentation was testament to their preparation and has established a new watermark for future teams.”
During the two-day competition, multi-disciplinary college teams from both the engineering and business programs and regional high school teams were judged on criteria including team presentation and style, developing a solution for a customer problem, value proposition, competitive advantages, market and sales strategy, management, financials and offering and investment analysis.
The four competing high school teams had 30 minutes to present and answer questions about their project on Friday, with winners announced after the awards gala on Friday, April 25. Each of the 24 collegiate teams presented their business plans on Friday, with six teams advancing to the finals on Saturday, delivering their presentations to the judges who determined the overall winners. The champions were announced Saturday afternoon at the competition’s lunch and awards ceremony.
The Business Plan Competition was hosted by the College of Business Department of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship.
Overall winners for the Business Plan Competition included:
College League
First place: Ze-hunterS (China) – Strives to aid in classroom efficiencies and the learning experience through an electronic blackboard. The FunMi e-board allows users to operate a touch screen anywhere, including ordinary white walls. Members: Zhifu Liang, Junmei, Pengfei Zhu
Second place: Mobile Foam – Seeks to aid organizations providing international relief construction by supplying simplistic building kits containing necessary materials, such as floor plans, certification, consulting, safety and portable molds, to construct a home using Insulated Concrete Forms (ICF). Mobile Foam has also seen success placing first in the Inland Northwest Business Plan Competition advancing to the Foster School of Business Competition.
Members: Chris Routen, Austin Carter, Dane Baird, Bettina Ernst and Kelsi Lakey
Third place: Fly Safe – Designed a more reliable airspeed sensor to help improve the safety of air travel and reduce costs by replacing pitot tubes, which are currently used to provide airspeed measurement to pilots. The Fly Safe team is also part of the Boeing Scholars Program.
Members: Lindsey Elhart, Patrick Gavin and David Finkel
Fourth place: Salud! – Developed an automatic cocktail machine that enables users to enjoy a variety of single-serve cocktails without the need for purchase of mixer, alcohol, and ingredients.
Members: Mary Blevins, Thomas Weis, Steven McCutcheon and Jonathan Marsh
Fifth place: Northwest Engineering Curricula (NWEC) – Designed a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curricula directed towards high school students to provide innovative products that develops users’ creativity and critical thinking skills.
Members: Rob Phibb, Jing Li, Max Nelson and Ben Bohnson
High School League
First place: Art by Chelsea – Created a customizable artwork business selling acrylic paintings. Chelsea’s art can be viewed on her personal website.
Members: Chelsea Evans – Riverpoint Academy, Spokane, Wash.
Second place: Rocky Mountain Hostel – Created concept for a youth hostel in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Members: Anna Main, Griffin Paulson, Jordan Maher, Lucas Bacon and Nick Bright – Sammamish High School, Bellevue, Wash.
Third place: Paintball – Developed proposal for an indoor paintball facility in Pullman, Wash.
Members: Jessica Brar – Pullman High School, Pullman, Wash.
Fourth Place: Green Scapes – Students from Bothell High School in Bothell, Wash., created a concept for a landscaping company designed to provide off-season home maintenance and summer vacation home monitoring services.
Members: Michael Gray and Mackenzie Murray – Bothell High School, Bothell, Wash.
For more information on Washington State University, the College of Business or the 2014 Business Plan competition, please visit: www.business.wsu.edu/businessplancompetition2014,or contact Marie Mayes, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, at mmayes@wsu.edu.
