Exhausted but elated, the siblings and their business plan to grow their Florida-based tea company had just taken the top prize at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s annual Joust New Venture Competition. The Joust is one of the premier events of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ College of Business’s Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership where students present their models for a viable business venture and compete to win money and other resources to pursue their venture. It is open to all Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ students and all types of venture proposals.

Before an audience of more than 400 students, entrepreneurs, faculty, alumni and members of the community Friday, Kyle and Bryon pitched their Yaupon Brothers Tea business to local executives who served as judges.

Moments after the winning announcement, Kyle and Bryon already had plans for their winnings, which include more than $50,000 in essential business services.

“We need to bring our production facility back to Florida,” said Bryon, a 2009 Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ graduate with a degree in legal studies and an interest in plants.

Having their pitch down pat from years of explaining Yaupon tea to everyone they met did little to calm their nerves on stage.

“We were nervous,” said Kyle, who is a student in the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. “It’s kind of intimidating,” added Bryon, a 2009 graduate with a degree in legal studies. That is saying something considering both brothers work for one of the busiest public safety organizations on the East Coast as members of Volusia County Surf Rescue.

When they’re not out rescuing swimmers or helping boaters, the brothers have been refining their tea growing and production business since 2012. A self-described plant nerd, Bryon noticed the Yaupon Holly seemed to be everywhere in Central Florida, even on Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s Rosen campus. A little research showed the Florida native plant was rich in anti-oxidants and North America’s only native caffeinated plant.

“It wasn’t being used in any drinks so I assumed it must taste awful,” Bryon said, “but that wasn’t the case. It actually tasted really good.”

In 2013, they became the first processor, handler and grower of Yaupon to earn USDA Organic Certification. They grow the Yaupon in Volusia County and then ship it to South Carolina for processing. With their winnings, they plan to move the production facility back to Florida.

“We perfected it over time and built a supply chain,” Bryon said.

Their polished presentation and in-depth knowledge on the market and production cycle left an impression with the judges.

“The consensus seems to be this was the best Joust ever, so Yaupon Brothers really needed to know their stuff to edge out the competition,” said Cameron Ford, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝. “This Joust was indisputably the yummiest. The judges enjoyed delicious fruit snacks served by Earthy Creations and washed those down with our winner’s innovative Yaupon Tea.”

Ford noted it was the first time a social venture, EsportsEDU, made the Joust finals and an education venture, Let’s C, inspired the crowd with their mission to teach English to students in Hong Kong.

“Today’s contestants are prime examples of how creativity and tireless research create impact by introducing innovations that enrich society,” Ford said. “We look forward to supporting their success and having them return to inspire future generations of entrepreneurial Knights.”

The Joust runner-up was James Kozachuk’s pitch for EsportsEDU, competitive, community and academic programs aimed at high school youth who are passionate about video games. He took home $7,000. In the fall, Kozachuk’s pitch took first place in Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝â€™s first Social Venture Competition.

Jasmine Yamini placed third and earned $4,000 with her Earthy Creations business, which offers juicy, nutrient-dense dried fruit snacks as a healthy alternative to candy fruit chews and dried fruit.

Let’s C: Learning English and the team of Mei Wang, Tze Fung Wong and Lauren Polson finished fourth with $2,000 for their online platform for real-time English language tutoring between tutors from English-speaking universities and students in Hong Kong.

In the Joust, students’ business plans are assessed by a panel of expert professionals representing corporate partners, area businesses and alumni.  This year’s judges included Sean Hayes, ’95, principal and VP, Business Development, Voloridge Investment Management; Scott Keith, Regional President, North & Central Region, BB&T; Laurette Koellner, ’77, former president, Boeing International; Terry McNew, ’86, president and CEO, MasterCraft; Barry Miller, ’95, President, Voloridge Investment Management; and Rick Walsh, ’77, president, The Knob Hill Companies. This year’s presenting sponsors were Steven Felkowitz, ’79; DigiThinkIT, Inc.; Burr+Foreman; and Jim Balaschak, ’86 & ’92, and Debbie Balaschak,’88. Additional sponsors include Anidea Engineering, Inc., BDO, Nperspective, LLC and William Hendrickson Consulting.

The four teams remaining from the field of 16 semi-finalists in this year’s Joust competition are:

“This event showcases some of the best and brightest students from across Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ battling it out in Shark Tank fashion for the chance to win startup money for their business,” said Dr. Cameron Ford, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. “The judges were unanimous in their praise for this year’s teams, noting that our semi-finalists were the best collection of student ventures they’ve seen.”

The Joust is one of the premier events of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ College of Business’s .  Students present their models for a viable business venture and compete to win money and other resources to pursue their venture. The Joust is open to all Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ students and all types of venture proposals.

The students’ business plans are assessed by a panel of expert professionals representing corporate partners, area businesses and alumni. This year’s presenting sponsors are Steven Felkowitz, ’79, DigiThinkIT, Inc., Jim Balaschak, ’86 and ’92, and Debbie Balaschak,’88. Additional sponsors include Anidea Engineering, Inc., BDO, Burr+Forman, LLP, CoLab, Hill Printing, Nperspective, LLC., ROI Design and William Hendrickson Consulting.

Team Entourage Red LLC won first place at the Joust. Students Taylor Cheeley and Nicole Enterlein were the winners of the event and were congratulated by their peers for the ingenious branding of the SMARTWAY Sanitary Cup, which is a disposable urine funnel for women. The SMARTWAY Sanitary Cup enables women to stand and urinate while facing the commode, reducing chances of contracting diseases by eliminating unnecessary contact with contaminated surfaces. The product is inexpensive, mess-free and hygienic.

“I talk constantly about the need for students to get out of their comfort zones, accept the possibility of failure, and use data to drive their decision-making, said Paul Jarley, Ph.D., dean of the college. “Taylor and Nicole took everyone way outside their comfort zones. They learned from their past experience and used data along with a crisp presentation to allay fears, overcome social norms and pitch a potentially disruptive product that no one had given a chance at the beginning of the day.”

“Winning the Joust validates that SMARTWAY Cup is a revolutionary product with serious market potential,” commented Taylor Cheeley. “We’re honored to receive the prestigious recognition, and poised pursue national contracts. We believe the Joust has refined our business model and changed our lives.”

The Joust Business Plan Competition is an annual event that the College of Business Administration hosts on campus. Students get together and form teams that will then present to the judges a strategic business plan along with a business proposition and pitch. For more information on the competition, visit the .

The Joust is one of a handful of events in the college that squarely align with the vision I painted during our 50th Anniversary event. It is at the intersection of town and gown–facilitated by faculty and judged by seasoned business professionals. It is open to any student at Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝. It takes courage to enter, research to prepare a convincing plan, and swagger to win. Comfort zones are exceeded, vision is married with data, egos are risked, and failure is almost certain. Only one plan walks away with the top prize.

So, we are going to celebrate the Joust with banners, pageantry, and hoopla…both virtual and in-person. Kelly, Tiffany, and Bridget have done a great job lining up judges. Past awardees will be recognized over the next month and the winner might even get a kiss from Steve Felkowitz (okay, maybe over the top, but we’ll come up with something cool).

But as valuable as winning is to the victor, the advice all of the students get from the judges is priceless. And telling would-be employers (or potential business partners) about the Joust experience is sure to impress and differentiate participants from the pack. As everyone knows, a good scar makes for a great story.

So break out your lances Knights, time to Joust!  Round one is March 22nd.

Paul Jarley, Ph.D., is the dean of the Â鶹ӳ»­´«Ă˝ College of Business Administration. He blogs every week at . This post appeared on March 10, 2013. Follow him on Twitter .