2014 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Finalists Announced
Winners Announced April 9
Teams from six Arkansas colleges and universities were announced yesterday as finalists in the 14th annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition that is managed by The Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation (AEAF), an affiliate of The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group. On April 9, winners will be announced in the following categories:
- Graduate Best Business Plan First Place – $25,000
- Graduate Best Business Plan Second Place – $15,000
- Graduate Best Business Plan Third Place – $10,000
- Undergraduate Best Business Plan First Place – $25,000
- Undergraduate Best Business Plan Second Place – $15,000
- Undergraduate Best Business Plan Third Place – $10,000
- Graduate Innovation First Place – $5,000
- Undergraduate Innovation First Place – $5,000
New for this year is the C. Sam Walls Entrepreneur Educator Award, funded by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation to honor Walls for his commitment to entrepreneurial education in Arkansas. Two college or university educators will be awarded the Walls Award along with a $2,500 cash prize each and $2,500 to their respective academic institutions for use in the furtherance of entrepreneurial education. Additionally, an elevator pitch competition will be held live at the luncheon, in which luncheon attendees will use text messaging to select the winners in the undergraduate and graduate categories. The top graduate and undergraduate elevator pitch winners will each receive $2,000. The top two undergraduate and graduate teams from the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup competition will compete against the top two teams from Nevada and Oklahoma for the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Award in May, with first and second place prizes of $30,000 and $20,000 respectively awarded in the graduate and undergraduate tracks. The 2014 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup finalists are:
Graduate Finalists
- Datavis – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- HemaNotics – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- LumaDrop – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- talentt – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- Tethystructure – Arkansas State University, Jonesboro
- The Argenta Center – Hendrix College
Undergraduate Finalists
- Anova Energy – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- Arleesa, LLC – John Brown University
- BioBotic Solutions – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- Funding Fathers – John Brown University
- IDA: Inexpensive Daily Assistant – Harding University
- TruBake Technologies – John Brown University
Graduate Innovation Finalists
- Datavis – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- HemaNotics – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- LumaDrop – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Undergraduate Innovation Finalists
- Arleesa, LLC – John Brown University
- BioBotic Solutions – University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
- PUREnovation, Inc. – Ouachita Baptist University
The 2014 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Chairman-level sponsors for the competition are Arkansas Business; Arkansas Money & Politics; Delta Plastics; and Arkansas Farm Bureau. The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group of companies empower entrepreneurs by providing capital in conjunction with community banks to businesses through its capital availability products and advocating for entrepreneurs through capital, educational, and technological improvements. The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group serves as the platform from which new opportunities are launched. In addition to the flagship company, Arkansas Capital Corporation, there are seven affiliate and partner companies, including, Six Bridges Capital Corporation, Arkansas Capital Relending Corporation, Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation, Heartland Renaissance Fund, Connect Arkansas, Pine State Regional Center, and SouthWind Analytics. To learn more, visit www.arcapital.com. AEAF was established in 1999, and is a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to education-based initiatives that promote and foster the development of innovation and entrepreneurship within Arkansas. With broad support from the state’s business community, AEAF’s purpose is to nurture people and ideas to generate future Arkansas entrepreneurs.
