CONWAY, Ark. (March 13, 2016) – Two Hendrix College student
teams have advanced to the final rounds of the
annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition.
“This is the first year Hendrix
College has had more than one team advance in the Governor’s Cup competition,”
said Hendrix accounting professor Dr. Lyle Rupert, chair of the Hendrix
Department of Economics and Business and faculty adviser for the student teams. “Entrepreneurship is the backbone of
the American economy, and its popularity at the collegiate level has never been
stronger. Many colleges and universities are developing programs, majors,
and even Ph.D.s in entrepreneurship. I appreciate the Arkansas Capital
Corporation Group and the D.W. Reynold’s Governor’s Cup for making this
opportunity available to our students.”
EcoForYou was one of 12 overall undergraduate division
semi-finalists and one of seven agriculture division finalists.
EcoForYou
student team members include:
- Olivier
Kwizera ’17
- Elvis
Maung ’17
- Farai
Musariri ’17
- Cloris
Tian ’17
“Eco For You Corporation is a chicken fertilizer processor
that proposes 1.) Collecting chicken waste from existing farmers in Randolph
county; 2.) Biological digestion of the chicken waste to remove raw manure
toxins, as well as to generate methane which will be used to power the system
and potentially generate income in the future from electricity sales; and 3.)
Selling the final fertilizer product, a much greener product than most current
fertilizer options to the numerous cash crop farmers in Northeast Arkansas,” according
to their project description. “We are a startup driven by bringing and adapting
the most recent biological advancements in chicken waste disposal techniques to
the Northeast Arkansas landscape, to reduce the potential harm to chicken waste
handlers and to keep Arkansas natural by minimizing environmental pollution.”
EcoForYou also received the
second place award in the Hendrix College Entrepreneurial Studies Program
Business Plan Competition this year.
“This team used a strong
combination of biological knowledge and business skills to provide an environmentally
sound process to benefit both chicken farmers needing to get rid of chicken
waste and cash crop farmers need an inexpensive source of fertilizer,” said
Rupert. “This green business will reduce environmental pollution.”
Demetrix was one of six overall graduate division finalists
and one of seven agriculture division finalists.
Demetrix
student team members include:
- Connor Bell ’16
- Payton Finch ’16
- Jeffery May ’16
“Demetrix is an agricultural
technology solutions company based on the use of modernizing farm business and
utilizing the latest drone imaging technology. As drone technology matured, the
use of drones has become financially feasible for hobbyists and commercial
applications alike. Our business will utilize drone technology to provide
analysis of crop growth, feedback on real-time data, and true infrared images
of fields, which will allow more efficient allocation of resources and time by
farmers. The idea for the company was born from the realization that while many
industries have quickly adopted new technologies, agriculture is often
overlooked as a source of practical applications of new technologies. A
disconnect exists between the agricultural sector and the tech world because
most agriculture exists in areas far away from tech innovation centers. Thus,
our business seeks to bring the technology of productivity software and drones
directly to farmers: we will facilitate complete implementation of these
technologies without the need for farmers to find tech solutions, implement
them, and troubleshoot the products on their own,” according to the team’s
description. “We differentiate ourselves by providing a full services farm tech
concierge firm and offering true infrared technologies that cannot compare in
price and timeliness to our competitors. We are implementing several cloud
based computing solutions and testing our Keystone product, aerial drone
imaging with data analytics and advisements.”
Finch, team leader for Demetrix,
was a finalist in the Governor’s Cup competition two years ago with a plan to
provide an entertainment venue in Argenta.
“For this competition, Demetrix
brings high-tech to the agriculture industry in the form of drones,” Rupert
said. “The drones will incorporate infrared imaging to help farmers
analyze crop growth and other issues so they can more efficiently allocate
water, fertilizer, and other resources.”
Thirty-seven business plans were submitted for this year’s
competition. Teams were reviewed by 36 judges and were judged in several areas,
including viability of their products/services; their proposed management
teams; potential competitors in the marketplace; possible critical risks to
their businesses; and financials, including proposed cash flows, income
statements, a balance sheet, and funds required for startup/operation.
The 20 semi-finalist and finalist teams will give oral
presentations on March 31 and April 1 at the Little Rock Marriott conference
center.
“Over the next few weeks,
EcoForYou and Demetrix will submit a revised business plan and prepare for oral
presentations to the judges,” Rupert said. “Finalists will present
90-second elevator-pitches at the awards luncheons under the assumption they
are on an elevator with a possible investor and have only 90 seconds to explain
their product or service hoping to secure an investment before the investor
leaves the elevator.”
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About
Hendrix College
Hendrix College is a private liberal arts college in Conway,
Arkansas. Founded in 1876 and affiliated with the United Methodist Church since
1884, Hendrix is featured in Colleges
That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think about Colleges and is
nationally recognized in numerous college guides, lists, and rankings for
academic quality, community, innovation, and value. For more information, visit
www.hendrix.edu.