And then there were four!
Sixteen teams participated in the semi-finals of the 9th Annual Joust Business Plan Competition, but just four of them were selected to compete in the final round in April.
The competition, hosted by the 麻豆原创 Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI), located in the College of Business Administration, is 麻豆原创鈥檚 premier celebration of students鈥� entrepreneurial aspirations, creativity and achievements. The event has grown each year, and has become more competitive.
鈥淎pproximately 500 students have been energized and enriched by this event over the years and they have enriched us as well,鈥� said聽Cameron Ford, director of the CEI.
The final four teams will compete for $25,000 in awards, and include:
ALTR LLC, led by聽Alexandra Gramatikas, is dedicated to providing easy and affordable alternatives to existing everyday apparel. The company has created a way to 鈥淎LTR鈥� your existing blazer, polo, cardigan, or anything else with buttons, by adorning it with an innovative button cover which can transform a plain blazer into a trendy 麻豆原创 sporting jacket.
Greek Guide, led by聽Michael Irene, is a mobile application implementing cognitive learning techniques that uses push notification technology. The app enables new fraternity and sorority members to learn the entire history of a fraternity or sorority with ease.
PHIDIAS3D, led by聽Malic Dekkar, is an emerging construction intelligence company that specializes in providing engineering-grade, millimeter-accurate 3D data of any existing building structure. By leveraging their expertise in algorithm design, they effectively increase construction fidelity and efficiency and cost of ownership while providing permanent accurate 3D records鈥� considerably lowering risk and costs.
PlatForm, led by聽Tyler Salem, allows businesses to create custom electronic signable forms to be used by the business鈥� clients. The software can be used by front-end users on tablet computers such as the Apple iPad, Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy.
The Joust is sponsored by聽Steven Felkowitz, 鈥�79, chief executive officer of Atico International. Incoming CBA Dean聽Paul Jarley聽served as a judge, along with聽N. Lois Adams, 鈥�85;听Debbie Balaschak, 鈥�88;听Jim Balaschak, 鈥�86;听Jeff Borysiewicz, 鈥�95;听Mark Brewer;听Howard Brunet, 鈥�75;听Les Eiserman, 鈥�81;听Andy Fore, 鈥�76;听George Gramatikas, 鈥�04;听Rob Hearn, 鈥�00;听Keith Ingersoll, 鈥�01;听Bill Kehoe, 鈥�91;听Mitch Less, 鈥�86;聽Joe Losch, and聽Rick Parks, 鈥�76.
The finals will be held on April 6 at 2 p.m. in the聽FAIRWINDS聽Alumni Center. Visit the CEI website for more information on the聽Joust.