Arkansas Governor’s Cup collegiate business plan names winners

Four different Arkansas universities captured first place in their respective categories in the 2019 Arkansas Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition on Thursday (April 11). More than $154,000 in prize money was distributed.

The awards presented at Thursday’s luncheon are:

Walton Family Foundation Graduate Division
First Place – Fintruth, University of Arkansas – $25,000
Second Place – ScreenBux, University of Arkansas – $15,000
Third Place – CorroSense, University of Arkansas – $10,000

Winrock Automotive Undergraduate Division
First Place – Vascugenix, University of Arkansas Little Rock – $25,000
Second Place – XTendon, Harding University – $15,000
Third Place – Bone Dri, Ouachita Baptist University – $10,000

The faculty adviser for the six teams were also awarded $2,000 each.

Arkansas Farm Bureau Agriculture Awards
First Place – Lucky Cricket Snack Factory, Arkansas State University – $5,000
Second Place – Tank’s Treats, Arkansas State University – $3,000

Innovate Arkansas Innovation Awards
Graduate Winner – CorroSense, University of Arkansas – $5,000
Undergraduate Winner – Vascugenix, University of Arkansas Little Rock – $5,000

The Governor’s Cup’s title sponsor is Delta Plastics of Little Rock. The competition is managed by Arkansas Capital Corporation.

“Many, probably even most, business plan competitions around the country measure their success in terms of the number of successful businesses that emerge from their competitions, said Rush Deacon, CEO of ACC. “While we love to hear those stories linked to the Governor’s Cup, we instead count as the measure of our success the impact the competition has had on entrepreneurial education in Arkansas’s colleges and universities.”

Deacon praised the teams’ academic sponsors and other faculty and administrators who assisted them through the stages of the competition. “They have done a marvelous job of using this Governor’s Cup to steer their students into some truly remarkable work.”