A trio of University of the Ozarks business students have reached the pinnacle of a state-wide collegiate business-plan competition.
(Pictured, from left) Gabriel Mendoza, Daniella Ugarte, and William Guillen have earned a spot to compete in the finals of the prestigious Arkansas Governor’s Cup on April 14-16 in Little Rock for their prospective business, Pet Buddy. The eco-friendly business concept takes used clothing items and turns them into pet items, such as toys and beds.
The ACC Capital Governor’s Cup is an annual collegiate business-plan competition among students from the state’s colleges and universities. The winning team will be announced during the award’s competition on April 16 at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
Pet Buddy is the first team from Ozarks to compete in the Governor’s Cup since 2012. No Ozarks team has ever won the competition.
The trio captured the University’s inaugural StartUp Challenge Competition, presented by the University’s Entrepreneurship Club (E-Club), during the 2024 Fall Semester.
“When participating in the StartUp challenge, our group started thinking about common problems we shared,” said Ugarte, a management and communications major from Costa Rica. “One of the members mentioned the amount of unused clothes they had and eventually the textile contamination problem popped out so we thought about creating something useful and attractive while also keeping the idea environmentally conscious. Later on, one member mentioned an experience with his dog stealing his clothes. That is the moment when Pet Buddy was created.”
Mendoza said the idea to compete in the StartUp challenge began with the “desire to put our knowledge and business skills into practice.”
“As business students, we have always liked the idea of challenges that help us grow and think outside the box,” said Mendoza, a management and psychology major from Guatemala. “Under this mindset, our goal was always to compete in the Governor’s Cup. Having won the StartUp challenge, there was no doubt that we wanted to demonstrate our full potential.”
Guillen, a management and political science major from El Salvador, said his group has gained some valuable knowledge and skills throughout the competition process, namely time management.
“With every step we took with the business, we had to learn how to balance our studies and extracurricular activities while also finding time to meet,” Guillen said. “Teamwork skills were also polished as we learned how to effectively communicate our ideas, complementing each other with our individual skills and discussing our goals with the business. Among the different things we learned, these are the skills that we value the most as they helped us through the process of creating a business and facing all the challenges that come with it.”
The concept for Pet Buddy has evolved over the past six months with the help of University professors, including the group’s advisor, Jon Langlois, assistant professor of business.
“Pet Buddy has grown a lot since its creation,” Ugarte said. “During the StartUp competition the business started enhancing the bases of what later on would become an eco-friendly product for pets. During that time the Pet Buddy team worked hard to offer a unique, yet attractive, value proposition through our products. By applying to the Governor’s Cup, and eventually making it to the semifinals, the Pet Buddy team continuously worked to improve the idea through research and exhaustive revisions with the advising of Professor Langlois, who supported us in this new phase. We also reached out to mentors and professors who provided us with insightful feedback that helped us to increase the effectiveness of our business.”
Guillen said the experience with Pet Buddy has made the idea of owning a business more attractive.
“After overcoming some of the challenges of creating a business, our team is excited to see what the future holds for us as business students,” he said. “The idea of owning a business sounds less difficult than before. We still want to improve our business skills and gain more knowledge with our studies. We do not know what can happen in the future, but we are sure that this experience taught us the importance of preparation, discipline, and teamwork.”
Pet Buddy is one of six finalists from throughout the state in the Governor’s Cup’s Small Business category. After pitching their business plan online during the semifinal round earlier this month, the team found out it had advanced to the final by email.
“We felt joyful, excited and grateful with the result of our hard work,” Mendoza said. “We are very grateful to be able to compete in the finals and definitely very excited about what is coming next. After several stages, we are reaching the culmination of a great adventure and encountering mixed feelings. This experience has provided us with knowledge and skills through every challenge we have faced; so as you can imagine we are ready to give our 100 percent and show who we are.”
Topics: Management, Student Stories