Top Governor’s Cup business plans recognized at awards dinner
For Immediate Release April 19, 2013
Contact: Sarah Seagraves, Senior Vice President for Marketing,
(405) 813-2403 or sseagraves@i2E.org
Student teams from Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City, Rogers State University and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College finished one-two-three in the first Small Business Division competition at the annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup.
The Small Business Division winning teams, along with those in the High Growth Graduate and Undergraduate divisions were revealed Thursday night in a gala awards dinner at the Bricktown Events Center in Oklahoma City. Gov. Mary Fallin addressed the audience of nearly 500 community leaders, academia and entrepreneurs.
The Governor’s Cup requires student teams to identify a concept, research the market, write a business plan and present it before a panel of judges. Winning teams emerged from two days of oral competition last weekend at the PHF Conference Center in Oklahoma City.
Team RxOmni from OSU-OKC claimed $10,000 as Small Business Division first place winner with an innovative software concept developed to alert pharmacists to possible adverse drug interactions.
Team leader of RxOmni was Kris Monier, and team members were Angela Davis, Angela Estevez, Herbert Foncham, Lori Hasty and Mayra Tello. Advisor was Amber Hefner.
The Small Business Division was limited to teams from Oklahoma’s 2-year, regional or private universities that could write a business plan around any business concept as long as it was unique or innovative.
Both first place teams in the High Growth divisions were from the University of Tulsa, with each winning a $20,000 cash prize.
Top winner in the High Growth Graduate Division was EchoCharge from TU. Echocharge presented a business plan for a technology that captures sound vibrations to generate electricity to charge cell phone batteries.
EchoCharge team leader was Katherine Sind, with team members Martin Green, Bingjie Ji and Reid Johnston. Faculty advisor was Claire Cornell.
In the High Growth Undergraduate Division, Code Sooq from TU claimed first place with a technology to create an online marketplace that connects software coders with projects submitted by companies seeking software development.
Team leader of Code Sooq was Ahmed El-Kishky, along with team members Marla Blum, Mark Denhoed and Stephen Macke. Advisor was David Greer.
High Growth Division teams were required to write and present business plans around concepts that show the potential for rapid job and revenue growth.
Second place teams and prize money in each division were: Small Business, J-Paxers, Rogers State University, $8,000; High Growth Graduate, R2R Technologies, Oklahoma State University, $10,000; and High Growth Undergraduate, FieldFocus, University of Oklahoma, $10,000.
Three students were awarded $1,000 each for delivering winning pitches during the oral presentations. Winners from each division were: Small Business, Bryce Hall, Rogers State University, J-Paxers; High Growth Graduate, Fash Fadaei, Oklahoma State University, Medishine; and High Growth Undergraduate, Susan Moring, University of Oklahoma, FieldFocus.
Also recognized at the Awards dinner were three winners of $5,000 Oklahoma Business Roundtable Paulsen Award scholarships. The recipients were: Andrea McKinney, East Central University; Jerry Powers, Oklahoma State University; and Timothy Whitley, Oklahoma State University.
High Growth Division teams also participated in a one-on-one Interview with a national industry expert. The experts selected the team in their category in which students displayed knowledge of their concept, market and displayed competency across the team. Winning Interview teams earned $1,000 each.
Interview category winners were: AT&T IT/Communications Category, Animal Analytics, University of Oklahoma; Greater Oklahoma City Chamber Healthcare Category, Medishine, Oklahoma State University; i2E Student Generated Category, Code Sooq, University of Tulsa; OG&EEnergy and Environmental Category, Kick Grass, Oklahoma City University; and Oklahoma Business Roundtable Manufacturing, Material Sciences and Transportation Category, Infinite Composites, Oklahoma State University-Tulsa.
The top two teams in the High Growth Graduate and Undergraduate divisions advance to compete for more than $118,000 against teams from Arkansas and Nevada in the Tri-State Competition May 20-22 in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Governor’s Cup is underwritten by the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and more than two dozen local sponsors. It is managed by i2E, Inc.
Governor’s Cup trophies were presented to winners by Gov. Fallin. Veteran Oklahoma City newscaster Ed Murray was emcee of the event.
More than 1,200 students from 31 Oklahoma campuses have participated in the nine years of the Governor’s Cup competition, writing business plans around nearly 400 innovative ideas and competing for more than $1.2 million in cash awards, scholarships and fellowships.
“For the ninth straight year, emerging entrepreneurs across Oklahoma have grasped the concepts necessary to startup a business and pitch the concept for investment dollars,” said Sarah Seagraves, i2E’s Senior Vice President for Marketing and manager of the competition.
“We’re especially proud that so many students at 2-year and regional campuses around the state answered the challenge to write and pitch business plans around innovative small business concepts,” Seagraves said. “It was indicative of the true talent we have in our future business leaders.”
i2E receives funding from a variety of federal, state and private sources, including the federal Economic Development Administration, the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology, the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber, the City of Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, the Presbyterian Health Foundation and the Oklahoma Business Roundtable.
2013 GOVERNOR’S CUP WINNERS
Small Business Division
First place, $10,000: RxOmni, Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City
Second place, $8,000: J-Paxers, Rogers State University
Third place, $4,000: Revolutionary Transportation, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College
High Growth Graduate Division
First place, $20,000: EchoCharge, University of Tulsa
Second place, $10,000: R2R Technologies, Oklahoma State University
Third place, $5,000: Turtle One, University of Tulsa
High Growth Undergraduate Division
First place, $20,000: Code Sooq, University of Tulsa
Second place, $10,000: FieldFocus, University of Oklahoma
Third place, $5,000: Animal Analytics, University of Oklahoma
Pitch Winners, $1,000 each
Small Business Division: Bryce Hall, Rogers State University
High Growth Graduate Division: Fash Fadaei, Oklahoma State University
High Growth Undergraduate Division: Susan Moring, University of Oklahoma
Oklahoma Business Roundtable Paulsen Award winners, $5,000 each
Andrea McKinney, East Central University
Jerry Powers, Oklahoma State University
Timothy Whitley, Oklahoma State University
For more information, contact Governor’s Cup competition Manager Sarah Seagraves at (405) 813-2403 or visit www.okgovernors.cup.com
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