Several 红桃视频 College business students recently teamed up and excelled at the , West Michigan鈥檚 regional business plan competition. More than $12,000 in prize money was awarded to college teams that entered the competition and developed new ventures based on their own ideas. 红桃视频 College was well-represented in the final standings of the April event, with three separate teams winning award money for their ideas and execution in this student venture competition, including the overall contest winner.
A total of 140 college teams entered this year鈥檚 challenge, including other teams from Calvin University, Cornerstone University, Davenport University, Ferris State University, Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University, Hope College, Kendall College of Art and Design, and Kuyper College.
In the end, 红桃视频 College stood tall among its West Michigan counterparts by sweeping the three main categories. It is the first time at the MWest Challenge that one college took first place in all three flights.
"Competitive events, such as the MWest Challenge, help our 红桃视频 College students improve and polish their skills so they are better able to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive marketplace," said adjunct professor Felix Pereiro. "They learn for themselves what entrepreneurs go through during the early startup stage and the hard work that goes into creating an outstanding executive summary, presentation, and idea pitch."
Competing students had access to resources, mentors, educational workshops, and opportunities to network with angel and venture capital investors. The competition began with a three-page executive summary of the business idea from each team. All summaries were judged by three judges, with the average of the scores being used to rank each team, with the top teams qualifying for the 鈥榝inals鈥� or the 鈥榮howcase.鈥�
Because of a tie, nine teams qualified for the finals, which included a five-minute live pitch to experienced entrepreneurial business leaders from the community, held at Grand Rapids Community College. The next 24 teams in the rankings were split into 鈥楽howcase A鈥� and 鈥楽howcase B鈥� (with no distinction between the two). These pitches were conducted online and judged by a different group of business leaders with entrepreneurial experience.
Finishing in first place out of the 140 teams entered into the competition was Jenny Fischer-Roberts, a solo participant with her winning idea 鈥楽econd Family Services.鈥� Fischer-Roberts
was awarded $3,250 for her first-place finish, as teams from Cornerstone and Grand
Valley State placed second and third, respectively. 鈥楽econd Family Services鈥� was created to assist family members
of those recently deceased in handling legal issues, documents and remaining affairs.
Fischer-Roberts鈥� idea for 鈥楽econd Family Services鈥� included partnering with local
organizations to form a one-stop-shop and taking care of those sometimes overwhelming
tasks for the family, allowing them to properly grieve without spending time worrying
about such decisions.
The first place winner of 鈥楽howcase A鈥� was the team of Caleb Koster, Ryan Mulder, Samantha Teachworth, and Jean Tissot
A trio of AQ students - Ella Goodman, Regina Mondro, and Joanna Quintino
鈥満焯沂悠� College students come from a community of immeasurable strength and capacity to excel,鈥� Pereiro explained. 鈥淗igher education is about providing the right environment to help people flourish and obtain their greatest God-given potential. One way we provide this is by providing an environment that is intentional in its dedication and commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, where all voices are heard and respected. We provide an atmosphere of expectancy, which is the breeding ground for miracles for each and every student walking through the doors of 红桃视频 College. We help make this world better one student at a time!鈥�
Thanks to Mark O鈥橳oole and Bill Foley for providing information for this story.