We had an amazing turnout at the 2019 Harriet Stephenson Business Plan Competition Semi-Finals! With thirteen teams, eight past participant teams, and over two hundred participating audience members, we can officially say that the event was a success.
The event stared with a Fast Pitch Competition, giving each of the teams only two minutes to sell their idea to a panel of judges. From there, the event flowed into the Tradeshow, where each of the teams had a booth where they could discuss their business idea to a fuller extent. There were great displays, samples, and even a few business cards exchanged.
With the great success of this event, we wanted to calculate the scores are soon as possible- so without further ado, these are the top four teams who made the cut to the Finals, and the Awardees of the Semi-Finals competition.
FINAL FOUR – ADVANCING TO FINALS ON 5/31
Sponsored by Herbert B. Jones Foundation, Rob Harris/PMI, Kathleen Miller, Elaine & Elgin Baylor, and John Meisenbach ($2,000-10,000)
Cash Butte Distillery
Julia Bringolf (PMBA), Arielle Newcomb (PMBA), Eric Lein (PMBA)
Hatch
Bettina Paek (LEMBA)
Start Date
Jessica Bishop (LEMBA '18), Taysser Gherfal, Ali Anderson
Teak & Timber
Daniel McConnell (PMBA), Darby Stearns (PMBA)
JOHN CASTLE AWARD
Sponsored by Jeff Widmyer and Friends of John Castle, in his memory ($2,200)
Lyfe Tech
William Luckett (UG, Business), Alexis Figueroa-Guttierez
SWILO SOCIAL INNOVATION AWARD
Sponsored by Gregory Romein ’14, in honor of the 2012 Swilo Team ($1,000)
Garden Grounds
Audrey Nevue (UG, Finance & Marketing), Kyla Cantillo (UG, Marketing), Matt Heffel (UG, Finance & Marketing), Alejandro Ramirez (UG, Business), Jake Zeigler (UG, Business, Caleb Dickinson-Cove (UG, Business), John Gavin (UG, Accounting & Business Analytics), Andrew Freemuth (UG, Graphic Design)
PITCH JUDGES AWARD
Sponsored by Kurt Wedgwood & IBM ($500)
Erudition Construction
Denise Burnside (LEMBA), Brian Burnside
TRADESHOW JUDGES AWARD
Sponsored by Friends of the IEC ($250)
2nd Degree Snacks
Teresa Slosson (LEMBA), Kristy Foster, Ally Nisbet, Randy Henson
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
Sponsored by Friends of the IEC ($250)
Neural Synergy
Duron Jones (BA, Business '14), Nina Cook (Neuroscience '17)
We again would like to thank everyone who came out and supported all of these amazing teams, we couldn't do what we do without you!