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U-Exchange wins 3rd Annual Project Springboard Business Plan Competition
Peoria, IL . . . April 9, 2009 . . . U-Exchange was named the winner of the 3rd Annual Project Springboard Business Plan Competition at an award dinner this evening at Bradley University.
The team, comprised of undergraduate and graduate level business majors, Tatenda Furusa, Tyler Fryer, Helena Racicka, T.J. Neuman, and Collin Schaefer, won a prize package valued at more than $120,000, including a $10,000 cash prize, an additional $15,000 of seed capital, consulting services from Junction Ventures; office space at the Peoria Next Innovation Center; marketing assistance from Converse Marketing; insurance advice from Coyle Insurance; legal services from Elias, Meginnes, Riffle and Seghetti, P.C., and accounting and technology services from Clifton Gunderson, LLP.
The U-Exchange team plans to create a one-of-a-kind classifieds marketplace and a central storefront tailored to the college community where students will be able to buy, sell, or exchange textbooks, furniture and personal items with fellow students.
Second place and $7500 was awarded to Eye On Life; third place and $5000 was awarded to Paws Giving Independence; and honorable mention and special mentoring was awarded to The Student Fund.
Six finalist teams presented their business plan before a panel of judges today in the Marty Theatre in the Michel Student Center. The business plans are judged on greatest market viability or potential to acquire outside funding.
The competition, open to Bradley students in all majors, was established in fall 2006 as a result of a $200,000 gift from Alexis Khazzam of Junction Ventures LLC to Bradley. Its purpose is to encourage students to think entrepreneurially and create a business plan for a new venture.
The mission of the Springboard Business Plan Competition is to provide real life experience in business plan development for Bradley students. This mission supports the university’s entrepreneurship major by continually encouraging and educating aspiring entrepreneurs in the creation, start up, and early growth stages of potentially high-growth businesses.
iRepair Squad won the inaugural Project Springboard competition in 2007. Memwas, meaning "the memories," was selected as the winner of the competition last year.
About the 2009 Springboard Business Competition prize winners
First Place - U-Exchange
U-Exchange plans to bring a fresh experience to an old problem - students buying and selling textbooks, furniture and personal items. Team members Tatenda Furusa, Tyler Fryer, Helena Racicka, T.J. Neuman, and Collin Schaefer, undergraduate and graduate level business majors, conducted research at Bradley that revealed 55% of the students surveyed found it difficult to sell or get rid of used items at the end of the academic year and 92% of those students said they would prefer to buy, sell, or exchange books with fellow students. The team plans to answer that need with a one-of-a-kind classifieds marketplace and a central storefront tailored to the college community. They will capitalize on the technology habits and buying trends of college students, offering a text message notification system and the central storefront for ease of exchanging goods.
Second Place - EyeOnLife (EOL)
The team, comprised of entrepreneurship majors Natalie Betscher, Tyler Fryer, and Tracy Blasiak, and mechanical engineering major Jonathan Sauder, hopes to address the challenge of providing adequate customer service in the casual dining industry. The product they envision is an electronic and interactive menu that aids in the servicing of restaurant customers. The "EyeMenu" will be a small touch screen device that will allow customers to input their order and request assistance from the staff as well as provide additional information and services electronically.
Third Place - Paws Giving Independence (PGI)
PGI founders are nursing major Brandi Arnold, physical therapy major Michelle Kosner, and business major Eric Swanson. Operating as a not-for-profit in the Peoria area, their vision is to provide service dogs to residents with a variety of disabilities. Their unique approach is that they obtain dogs from shelters and rescue groups and train the animals locally avoiding the expensive and time-consuming existing process of applying to national organizations. Since their company's incorporation last September, the PGI team has placed six service dogs in training with foster homes and are primed to place two more this spring.
Honorable Mention - The Student Fund
The Student Fund aims to offer a solution to financial ignorance by educating young people about money management, investing, and planning for retirement. With the hope of "making millionaires," team members Luke Lancaster, Katie Miller, and Jeremy Brewer, all entrepreneurship majors, plan to form this educational service company to create relationships with schools and arrange customized seminars, classes, workshops, and presentations that teach students financial literacy. Team members say financial illiteracy is a growing concern pointing to research by The Hartford Financial Services Group that indicates fewer than 25% of students and 20% of parents believe they are well prepared to deal with the financial challenges that await them after graduation.