(Photo: The E-Club executive team with Kristopher Adams of ARise and Maddy Stricklen with the Arkansas Governor’s Cup.)
Six teams made up of business-minded University of the Ozarks students will pitch their small business ideas to both a panel of judges and a live audience on Friday afternoon during the second annual Startup Challenge competition, presented by the University’s student organization, the Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club).
The competition will begin at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 5, in the Walton Fine Arts Center’s Seay Theater. The event is free and open to the campus community as well as the general public.
The Startup Challenge is sponsored by ARise (Arkansas Innovators, Startups, and Entrepreneurs), which will award cash prizes to two teams — the judges’ choice and the audience’s pick.
Last year’s Startup Challenge winning team, Pet Buddy, went on to compete in the prestigious Arkansas Governor’s Cup last spring, earning third place in the Small Business Division and first place in the Elevator Pitch competition.
According to E-Club President Nataly Vindas, participating student teams follow a structured business plan format closely aligned with that used in the Arkansas Governor’s Cup.
“The Startup Challenge is our annual pitch competition where student teams get the chance to bring a business idea to life and present it in front of a panel of judges,” Vindas said. “Throughout the semester, we guide them with workshops, feedback, resources, and mentorship from industry professionals so that they can strengthen their concept and learn what it really takes to communicate a solid business plan. Our main goal is to create a supportive, practical, and exciting space where students can gain experience, test their ideas, and push themselves to think like entrepreneurs. Teams can use the Startup Challenge as a preparation stage for the next level, if they wish to try and apply to participate in the Governor’s Cup.”
This year’s competing teams are Arbitrage Advantage (Jose Luis Jr. Salgado and Gianna Dowling); Nutri-Bloom (Hanna Laing, Robert Chery, and Tiana Cunningham); BeeKura (Jeremy Vásquez, Gerson Bolaños, Brenda Navarro, and Vicky Álvarez); Wear Your Vision (Isabella Pérez, Sheyla Zamora Esteban, Katherine Alonzo, and Fiorella Solano Ureña); U Drive (Jacquelinne Retana Teshe, Maria Fernanda Cabrera, and Roberto Castro); and BasKiss (Valeria Mejía Tabora, Abigail Reyes Ruiz, and Kenia López Portillo).
“Our competition will have two winning teams,” Vindas said. “One will be the judge’s choice, which is the overall competition winner. The second one is the people’s favorite, which will be selected by the audience after listening to the team’s 60-second elevator pitches. Voting will be done through Google Forms.”
Judges for this year’s competition include 1988 Ozarks alumnus Tony Warren, vice president and commercial lender for Arvest Bank; Maddy Stricklen, program director for the ACC Capital Foundation and an official with the Arkansas Governor’s Cup; and Dr. Chatham Ewing, director of Robson Library.
For this year’s competition, students were paired with industry professionals who served as mentors. Those mentors include Kristopher Adams, program manager at ARise; Greg Foss, founder of Velocity Performers Advisors; and 2017 University of the Ozarks alumna Claudia Scott, NWA Kiva Hub director at the Startup Junkie Foundation.
Vindas also praised the U of O business faculty for their support of the Startup Challenge. The E-Club advisors are Dr. Christine McCain and Dr. Juan Carlos García Piña-Rosette. Professor NaLisa Brown led a workshop for competing teams on completing the marketing section of the business plan, while Professor Pamela Cogan delivered a workshop focused on the financial section.
Other E-Club executive members this year are Caurthney Noel, vice president; William Guillen, engagement coordinator; Daniella Ugarte, secretary; Andrés Hernández, marketing manager; and Joel Charris, treasurer.
Topics: Business Administration