UA, JBU students among winners in Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup

College students from the University of Arkansas and John Brown University were among those rolling in the dough at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock on Wednesday.

The 2015 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup named its winners across multiple categories and students at the undergraduate and graduate level from universities across the state racked up more than $100,000 in prizes for their ideas.

The business plan competition, sponsored by the Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation, a subsidiary of the Arkansas Capital Corp., is in its 15th year and it has become a showcase for some of the best business ideas from the brightest college talent in the state.

More than 750 business leaders and college representatives were in attendance for the annual event. This year, 47 teams submitted business plans from 12 colleges and universities from across Arkansas for a chance to win money tied to the prize pool.

“At the risk of sounding cliche, every year it gets stronger, every year it gets better,” said Sam Walls III, president of the Heartland Renaissance Fund, an affiliate of the Arkansas Capital Corp. Group. “What was exciting about this, and exciting about the competition, is you’ll notice the diversity of the winners. In year’s past, there were a few institutions that kind of dominated at the event. Now, we have a broader range of people making it this far.”

The 2015 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup winners are:
Undergraduate AT&T Elevator Pitch Award – $2,000
TIRE – Harding University

Graduate AT&T Elevator Pitch Award – $2,000
Saf-Tech – Arkansas State University

Undergraduate Delta Plastics Innovation Award – $5,000
Conner Innovation – University of Arkansas

Graduate Delta Plastics Innovation Award – $5,000
Agricultural Innovations – Arkansas State University

First Place Agriculture Award – $5,000
Baby Booster – University of Arkansas

Second Place Agriculture Award – $3,000
Agricultural Innovations – Arkansas State University

Undergraduate Business Plan Winners
1st Place – $25,000
TIRE – Harding University

2nd Place – $15,000
Charlie’s Choices – John Brown University

3rd Place – $10,000
Opt-In – John Brown University

Graduate Business Plan Winners
1st Place – $25,000
Agricultural Innovations – Arkansas State University

2nd Place – $15,000
Kordate Solutions Inc. – University of Arkansas

3rd Place – $10,000
Baby Booster – University of Arkansas

First and second place winners of the undergraduate and graduate teams will compete against the top two teams from Nevada and Oklahoma for the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Award in May, where they will compete to win a share of the $118,000 prize pool.