Winners announced in ASU business plan competition

And the winner is Beyond Critical.

The Arkansas State University College of Business hosted a business plan competition Thursday for students to pitch business ideas for new products. At the event at the ASU Delta Center, the presentations ranged from an emergency alert system for children left in cars to the creation of business and transportation apps.

The alert system project, called Infant Savers, was developed by students at ASU-Beebe. The system would be a secondary clip with a temporary sensor attached to a child’s safety seat, student Jacob Hendricks said. If a child is left in a car, the system would go into effect.

There would be a 5-minute delay before the system would work. Hendricks said once temperatures in a car exceed 100 degrees or go below 40 degrees, a 130-decibel alarm would be sounded with strobe lights going off inside the car. Hendricks said the control box for the system, which would run under the bottom of the car seat to the trunk, could be installed by a mechanic.

The other projects ran the gamut.

Another project, Car Seat Comfort, would use a pressure sensor to help notify parents if a child is left in a car as well as a heating and cooling sensor.

One project, called Find Me, uses a GPS, water proof case that can be used to locate a missing child or pet while another project, Hydra Fresh, would be used to hydrate athletes during hot Arkansas summers.

As for Beyond Critical, the proposal would use CO2 to extract heavy metals from used motor oil to make base oil, student Michelle Allen said. She said the process is done in an environmentally friendly way and works to recycle oil.

The group worked for a long time on creating the project. However, one of the members of the group said it was sometimes challenging.

“Putting together a business plan and a presentation is a lot more complicated than we thought,” Alex Goff said.

A group of students also created two transportation projects – one a specialized moving app, called Truckage, while Trucking Along would place cameras inside 18-wheelers to help track trucks around the country.

BUSINESS INTEREST
ASU College of Business Dean Dr. Shane Hunt said the competition helps to build interest in business in a complex world.

Hunt said the college has sponsored a separate freshman business plan competition for the past two years to help build interest in the program.

“It helps to get them engaged on running a business and has helped students become more entrepreneurial,” Hunt said.

The event Thursday was open to all ASU students. Hunt said in addition to business students, students in other colleges participated. Gone are the days of creating a business plan and building toward your goal, Hunt said. Business today is more multi-faceted with business, marketing, technology and science playing a role in starting a business, Hunt said.

Also, reality shows like “Shark Tank” and “The Apprentice” have built interest in business especially with young people and college students, Hunt said. “The students see and enjoy the show. They also enjoy the competitive aspect of it,” Hunt said.

As for ASU, the university has had a successful year in pitching ideas.

The university won the 2015 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup, winning about $30,000 in prize money. Dr. Erick Chang, who runs the business pitch competition program, cited Josh Baker as a success story for the program. Baker, who recently graduated with a Business Administration degree with minors in entrepreneurship and marketing, won the elevator pitch competition at a tri-state competition in Las Vegas.

The project from Baker involved creating an automated well irrigation system for farmers in the region. Baker said programs like business plan competitions help students build for their future.

“It is the culmination of everything we learned at the university,” Baker said, noting the competitions help students work on what may be lacking in their plans. “It shows people that the education we have received here is second to none.”

WINNERS
The winners of the competition are:

Freshman Elevator Pitch
1st place – Rose Bands
2nd place – Spot
3rd place – We Care Package

Live Pitch
Winner – Comfort For Me

Innovation
Winner – Beyond Critical

Overall
1st Place – Beyond Critical
2nd Place – Comfort for Me
3rd Place – Find Me