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Washington State University
Carson College of Business Dividend Article

2015 Business Plan Competition Results

High School League Placing

Herbert B. Jones Foundation first place winners:
One Stone Photography—$5,000 prize Kelly Liles, Mead High School

Second place:
M&P Batting Cages—$3,500 prize Payton Utzman and Mike Peterson, Pullman High School

Third place:
VolunteerMe—$2,500 prize Rianne Ellingwood, Kassidy Newsom, Blair Waiting, and Conner Breneman, Riverpoint Academy

Fourth Place:
TekMonkey – $1,000 prize Tanmay Garg, Andrew Bailey – Pullman High School

 

College League Placing

Herbert B. Jones Foundation first place winners:
Go KEFI
—Travel website that plans vacations based on the user’s desired experiences and budget. Users describe their ideal trip through an interactive survey that asks about budget, climate, accommodations, travel time, and desired experiences. Go KEFI also won the Spokane Startup Weekend, the Inland Northwest Business Plan Competition, and made the Sweet 16 finals at the University of Washington Business Plan Competition.
Amanda Scott, Monica Bomber, Troy Carpenter, Derek Hyatt, Travis Person

Herbert B. Jones Foundation second first place winners:
Co-Optical
—A non-invasive and continuous blood glucose monitor device offering a painless and convenient alternative to current diabetes management methods. Co-Optical made the Sweet 16 finals at the University of Washington Business Plan Competition.
Samuel Byrd, Zane Duke, Amber Graviet, Qassem Naim

Third place:
Salud!
—Counter-top automatic cocktail machine that enables users to enjoy a variety of single-serve cocktails without the need to separately purchase mixers and other ingredients.
Mary Blevins, Jonathan Marsh, Steven McCutcheon, Simbiat Yusuff

Fourth place:
Surfacide Solutions LLC
—An antimicrobial coating “[Cu]poxy” that harnesses the natural antimicrobial properties of copper to proactively and continuously protect against viral and bacterial transmission from high touch surfaces.
Sam Robertson, Kristin Bryant, Connor Harber, Christina Crow, Brian Gabriel

Fifth place:
SkyScan
—Custom, light-weight, power efficient sense and avoid solutions (SAA) that address Federal Aviation Administration mid-air collision concerns for companies that develop and operate large, unmanned aerial vehicles commonly known as drones.
Sam Fosberg, Noel Wang, Jeff Epperson, Nicole Hessner

Honorable Mention:
Indy Campers
—Modified, affordable automobiles equipped with camping essentials for traveling throughout Switzerland’s most sought out-locations.
Jokull Egilsson, Daniel Fridriksson, Hongcun Liu, Maria Thorsdottir, Grimur Ulfarsson

Herbert B. Jones Foundation Merit Award Winners:

Best written plan: Go KEFI

Best presentation: Co-Optical

Best technology venture:
Neufinity—High-tech gaming headset allowing users to move in-game characters by imagining the character’s movement. The headset works by identifying changes in the brain when the user thinks certain types of thoughts.
Kristopher Perry, Philip Pitts, Megan Caruso, Brian Senf, Emily Whitehead

Best social impact business: Co-Optical

High School League:

First place: One Stone Photography – $5,000 prize
Keely Liles – Mead High School

Second place: M&P Batting Cages – $3,500 prize
Payton Utzman, Mike Peterson – Pullman High School

Third place: VolunteerMe – $2,500 prize
Rianne Ellingwood, Kassidy Newsom, Blair Waiting, Conner Breneman – Riverpoint Academy