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 ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI), located in the College of Business Administration, is ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½βs premier celebration of studentsβ entrepreneurial aspirations, creativity and achievements. The event has grown each year, and has become more competitive.
βApproximately 500 students have been energized and enriched by this event over the years and they have enriched us as well,β saidΒ Cameron Ford, director of the CEI.
The final four teams will compete for $25,000 in awards, and include:
ALTR LLC, led byΒ Alexandra Gramatikas, is dedicated to providing easy and affordable alternatives to existing everyday apparel. The company has created a way to βALTRβ 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 ΒιΆΉΣ³»΄«Γ½ sporting jacket.
Greek Guide, led byΒ 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 byΒ 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 recordsβ considerably lowering risk and costs.
PlatForm, led byΒ Tyler Salem, allows businesses to create custom electronic signable forms to be used by the businessβ 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 byΒ Steven Felkowitz, β79, chief executive officer of Atico International. Incoming CBA DeanΒ Paul JarleyΒ served as a judge, along withΒ N. Lois Adams, β85;ΜύDebbie Balaschak, β88;ΜύJim Balaschak, β86;ΜύJeff Borysiewicz, β95;ΜύMark Brewer;ΜύHoward Brunet, β75;ΜύLes Eiserman, β81;ΜύAndy Fore, β76;ΜύGeorge Gramatikas, β04;ΜύRob Hearn, β00;ΜύKeith Ingersoll, β01;ΜύBill Kehoe, β91;ΜύMitch Less, β86;Β Joe Losch, andΒ Rick Parks, β76.
The finals will be held on April 6 at 2 p.m. in theΒ FAIRWINDSΒ Alumni Center. Visit the CEI website for more information on theΒ Joust.