Winners of the 2014 Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Competition Named

BioBotic Solutions Takes Second Place Undergraduate Award

Second Place, Undergraduate — BioBotic Solutions, University of Arkansas & Hendrix College

The Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation, an affiliate of The Arkansas Capital Corporation Group, is pleased to announce BioBotic Solutions with team members from University of Arkansas and Hendrix College took second place in the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Award competition. The competition was held at The Mirage of Las Vegas.

In the undergraduate track, Owlpal Healthcare from the University of Tulsa took first place. In the graduate track, Dragonfly Energy from University of Nevada, Reno, was awarded first place, and Driven Analytics from University of Oklahoma, Norman, was awarded second place. First place winners took home a $30,000 cash prize, a team trophy and individual plaques. The second place winners received a $20,000 prize, a trophy and individual plaques. The team’s’ faculty advisors each earned a $3,500 check. “This year’s teams pitched sophisticated and forward-thinking business plans that have the potential to become very successful companies,” said Rush Deacon, acting chief executive officer for Arkansas Capital Corporation. “It’s exactly the type of innovation we were looking for when we started this competition. This competition is an example of broad efforts Arkansas Capital Corporation has spearheaded to support entrepreneurship in Arkansas, and we are very proud of our student competitors.”

The Winning Undergraduate Teams Are:

First Place – Owlpal Healthcare – The University of Tulsa Team Members:  Jordy Albert, MacKenzie Ward Faculty Advisor:  Claire Cornell Second Place – BioBotic Solutions – University of Arkansas and Hendrix College Team Members:  Michael Iseman, Kelley Coakley, Rachel Zweig Faculty Advisor:  Jeff Amerine and Carol Reeves, Ph. D.

The Winning Graduate Teams Are:

First Place – DragonflyEnergy – University of Nevada, Reno Team Members:  Denis Phares, Sean Nichols, Justin Ferranto Faculty Advisor:  Matt Westfield Second Place – Driven Analytics – University of Oklahoma, Norman Team Members:  Stephen Soroosh, Jake Elliott, Mitchell Walser Faculty Advisor:  Ron Bolen

Elevator Pitch Winners:

Graduate Division – Denis Phares, Dragonfly Energy, University of Nevada, Reno Undergraduate Division – MacKenzie Ward, Owlpal Healthcare, The University of Tulsa The 2014 Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Award is an invitation-only event. Invitations were extended to the first and second place winners of the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup in Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma, the states in which Reynolds built his media empire. Now in its seventh year as a multi-state competition, the Tri-State Award business plan competition represents the pinnacle of three statewide business plan competitions in which the top two undergraduate and graduate teams from each state compete for cash awards totaling $118,000. 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. The Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation (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.