HIGH POINT, N.C., April 25, 2012 – The Center for Entrepreneurship at High Point University held its second Business Plan Competition today where Zoe Jordan, a junior majoring in business administration, was awarded the first place prize of $15,000 in start-up funds for her company “Gimme Options” – a social networking and e-commerce clothing exchange website.
Jordan describes “Gimme Options” as a social media site that allows students “to sell, swap and exchange clothing on college campuses.” She says the $15,000 will be used to build the company’s website, expand to other campuses in the Triad, and, eventually, expand to campuses throughout the country.
“It’s been an absolutely unbelievable and rewarding experience,” Jordan says about participating in the competition and claiming the top prize. “I appreciate this honor, and I will be moving forward with the full development of the ‘Gimme Options’ website.”
Jordan and two other finalists presented their ideas to a panel of judges consisting of business leaders and entrepreneurs from the Triad community. The three finalists took many steps to get to this level – all had to first submit a business plan, then give oral presentations to the judges who are familiar with early-stage and start-up businesses. The finalists were evaluated on multiple criteria, including feasibility of success, idea innovation and soundness of the business model.
Judges awarded the second-place award to Will Newman, a senior business administration major with a focus in sport management, who received $7,000 in start-up funds for his business idea, “HoopBeatz,” 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 third-place award went to Josh Pastore, a junior communications major, who received $3,000 in start-up funds for his business idea, “Hawk Vision Applications.” The idea is for 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.
The yearly competition is sponsored by High Point University’s Phillips School of Business and its Center for Entrepreneurship, in partnership with BB&T.
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]