HIGH POINT, N.C., April 12, 2012 – The Center for Entrepreneurship at High Point University will host its second annual Business Plan Competition, and the three finalists are already gearing up to pitch their business plans in the hopes of winning the top prize – funds to begin their own company. The winners will split a $25,000 prize.
The three finalists – Zoe Jordan, a junior business administration major; Josh Pastore, a junior communications major, and Will Newman, a senior business administration major with a focus in sport management – will present their business ideas to a panel of judges consisting of business leaders and entrepreneurs from the Triad community on April 25. The event will be held at 9 a.m. in Norton Hall, Room 101.
Their business plans include:
– Zoe Jordan’s company is “Gimme Options,” a social networking and e-commerce clothing exchange website.
– Josh Pastore’s company is “Hawk Vision Applications,” a software company that creates user-friendly phone and desktop applications. To date, prototypes are completed for two products, and a third is pending registration with the State of North Carolina.
– Will Newman’s company, “HoopBeatz,” is a website with phone application capabilities that has market appeal to high school basketball athletes, college recruiters and fans. Newman worked on the company with 2011 HPU graduate Trey Hicks.
The competition is sponsored by High Point University’s Phillips School of Business and its Center for Entrepreneurship, in partnership with BB&T.
“The finalists in this year’s competition are all working on exciting business ideas,” says Lou Anne Flanders-Stec, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and assistant professor of business administration. “The funding they could receive will have a great impact on their progress – I look forward to seeing how they will utilize their prize money to grow their business.”
All students who entered the competition were challenged to submit a written business plan, followed by oral presentations to judges who are familiar with early-stage and start-up businesses. The finalists’ plans will be evaluated on multiple criteria, including feasibility of success, idea innovation and soundness of the business model.
Winners from last year’s event have seen success and growth in their companies, including junior Ryan Varley, first place winner and co-owner of Siren Alerts, and senior Seth Gold, second place winner and owner of Bamboo Apparel. Both students officially launched their companies in May 2011 after receiving start up funds from the competition.
Varley’s company, which he co-founded with his brother, is designed to change the way service industries, such as restaurants and hotels, communicate with their customers. Siren Alerts uses a text messaging system on mobile phones to alert customers when their dinner reservation is ready, when their dry cleaning can be picked up and more. He says the company’s clientele is growing every day, and its creating partnerships with some other mobile app companies. To learn more, visit http://www.sirenalerts.com/.
Gold’s company offers t-shirts made of 70 percent bamboo that are created through sustainable methods that allow consumers to reduce their carbon footprint. For every T-shirt purchased, Gold and his team will match the sale with a donation of a T-shirt to a person in Uganda. He says sales have steadily increased since the launch, and the company has been selected to compete in various other business plan competitions such as the Global Student Entrepreneurs Awards and the Charlotte Venture Challenge. He is also meeting with potential investors. Visit the company online at http://www.bamboogivesback.com/.
At High Point University, every student receives an extraordinary education in an inspiring environment with caring people.℠ HPU, located in the Piedmont Triad region of North Carolina, is a liberal arts institution with over 4,200 undergraduate and graduate students at campuses in High Point and Winston-Salem. It is ranked by US News and World Report at No. 3 among Regional Colleges in the South. Parade Magazine lists HPU in the top 25 private schools in the nation. HPU was selected in the 2010-2011 list of “Colleges of Distinction,” as well as one of the top green schools in the country by the Sierra Club. The university offers 44 undergraduate majors, 40 undergraduate minors and 10 graduate degree programs. It is a member of the NCAA, Division I and the Big South Conference. Visit High Point University on the Web at highpoint.edu.
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Pam Haynes
Communication Specialist
336-841-9055
[email protected]