2012 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Winners Announced
The recent full moon brought with it some shining STARt-up companies in the form of the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup (DWRGC) winners. The teams participated in Arkansas’s premier collegiate business plan competition that is sponsored by the Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation (AEAF), an affiliate of the Arkansas Capital Corporation (ACC). With constellations circling overhead, an enormous screen on center stage, two huge side screens and a fast-paced, well-choreographed presentation, the collegiate team winners’ names were announced. Lisa Fischer, a morning show announcer at KURB-98.5, former NBA basketball star and UALR Assistant Coach Joe Kleine and Honorary Event Chairman John H. Tyson kept the audience entertained and enlightened in regard to the winners. The Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center was filled with 800 business leaders, college students and team supporters when the following winners were announced. One of the crowd-pleasing moments was the “Elevator Pitch” – the 90-second time slots given to each of the six finalists undergraduate and six graduate teams so they could present their product/service to the audience. SUMO text was then used by the audience to vote for their favorites. The winners of that competition were:
Undergraduate
AT&T Elevator Pitch Award — $2,000 Hydrovate – John Brown University, Siloam Springs, Arkansas
Graduate
AT&T Elevator Pitch Award — $2,000 SpatiaLink Solutions– University of Arkansas at Fayetteville
Undergraduate
Delta Plastics Innovation Winner — $5,000 Vita “Intelligent” Labels — a small label that changes color based on the pH balance of the food. Harding University, Searcy, Arkansas Team members: Daniela Hernandez, Davy Martinez, Taylor Barnett Team Advisor: Dr. Allen Frazier Arkansas Farm Bureau Agriculture Award — $5,000 Hydrovate – equips animal caretakers with efficient products that maximize animal health through the development of innovative hydration solutions. John Brown University, Siloam Springs, Arkansas Team members: Tina Funk, Amanda Abramovitz, Josh Garrett, Rolando Ochoa Team Advisor: Ms. Eva Fast Team Co-Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mike Kennelley
Undergraduate Business Plan Winners
1st Place — $25,000 + Round-trip tickets & Accommodations to Las Vegas to compete in Tri-State Simpler Solutions – strives to be recognized by paint manufacturers as the leading company for paint sampling innovation, bridging the gap between consumer demands and market offerings. John Brown University, Siloam Springs, Arkansas Team members: Shantelle Overby, Brandon Knight, Jamison Hofer Team Advisor: Team Advisor: Ms. Eva Fast 2nd Place — $15,000 + Round-trip tickets & Accommodations to Las Vegas to compete in Tri-State Hydrovate — equips animal caretakers with efficient products that maximize animal health through the development of innovative hydration solutions. John Brown University, Siloam Springs, Arkansas Team members: Tina Funk, Amanda Abramovitz, Josh Garrett, Rolando Ochoa Team Advisor: Ms. Eva Fast Team Co-Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mike Kennelley 3rd Place — $10,000 Vita “Intelligent” Labels — a small label that changes color based on the pH balance of the food. Harding University, Searcy, Arkansas Team members: Daniela Hernandez, Davy Martinez, Taylor Barnett Team Advisor: Dr. Allen Frazier The graduate level team winners are:
Graduate
Delta Plastics Innovation Winner $5,000 Innovative Athletic Solutions – seeks to become the top choice of performance enhancing products for athletic equipment by developing solutions that provide a competitive edge for the needs of today’s athlete. John Brown University, Siloam Springs, Arkansas Team members: Brittany Hopper, Matt Brooker, David Castagne, Abel Galliguez Team Advisor: Ms. Eva Fast Team Co-Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mike Kennelley Arkansas Farm Bureau Agriculture Award — $5,000 Cam Ah Co – will produce and market a modular mobile unit system that extracts oil from crops such as Camelina and Soy beans that can be installed by farmers in Arkansas. Arkansas State University, Jonesboro, Arkansas Team members: Brandon Boone, Doug Strickland, Cody Brown Team Advisor: Dr. Erick P.C. Chang
Graduate Business Plan Winners
1st Place — $25,000 + Round-trip tickets & Accommodations to Las Vegas to compete in Tri-State Boston Mountain Biotech – provides custom E. coli cell lines that allow pharmaceutical manufacturers to make their current products faster, with fewer losses, and more cost effectively. University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Team members: Ellen Brune, Stuart Brune Team Advisor: Dr. Carol Reeves 2nd Place — $15,000 + Round-trip tickets & Accommodations to Las Vegas to compete in Tri-State SpatiaLink Solutions– develops software enabling category managers to break the mold of traditional business practices optimizing the shelf-design process whereby on-shelf availability is maximized and total supply chain costs are minimized. University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Team members: Steve Fortner, John Miller, Aaron Huffaker, Nate Allen, Bethany Haefner Team Advisor: Dr. Carol Reeves 3rd Place — $10,000 Learning DifferentiatED — developed a software program, manaGED Prep that is based on our President’s 91% student retention rate and 100% GED pass rate with his students. The manaGED Prep program (1) provides a curriculum that is specifically geared toward the adult learner and (2) increases student retention rates. Shorter completion times will also reduce long student waiting lists at adult education programs, and increase profits for our customers – adult education schools. University of Arkansas at Fayetteville Team members: Barry James, Senthil Raman, Brandon Wright, Brandon Hill Team Advisor: Dr. Carol Reeves The first and second place teams in the undergraduate and graduate competition receive their cash prizes, along with a round-trip ticket and hotel accommodations to Las Vegas where they will compete in the Tri-State Competition. Tri-State features the first and second place winners from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Nevada. The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation is headquartered in Las Vegas and the three states represent those in which Mr. Reynolds’ media empire was built. The Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup was established in 2001 by the Arkansas Capital Corporation “to encourage entrepreneurial spirit and grow entrepreneurs in the state,” according to Arkansas Capital Corporation Chief Executive Officer C. Sam Walls. “We hope that this year’s competition participants will be the next generation of Arkansas entrepreneurs. “This is the 12th year of competition and it brought 53 submissions from 14 different colleges and universities across the state. We are all very proud of our hardworking Arkansas collegiate business plan teams.” The Arkansas Capital Corporation (ACC) was established in 1957 as a private, non-profit business development corporation that specializes in secured long-term financing to Arkansas’s small and medium size businesses. As one of the state’s largest government lenders, ACC bridges the gap between the level of funding a business needs and what it is able to obtain through traditional financing sources.
