By Jeanice Davis
Assistant Editor
Students from RSU will compete in a statewide, NCAA-level collegiate business plan competition this spring.
In the Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition, students will use their entrepreneurial ideas to build a business plan for an innovative product or service and submit the plan for judging.
The team normally consists of 4-6 students from a cross-section of different majors and different skills. It is not just for business students, said Dana Gray, assistant professor and faculty advisor for the team.
The competition is designed to help students to develop their ideas and skills so that they will be prepared to lead tomorrow’s innovative new businesses. Plus, it gives the students the access to networks of successful entrepreneurs, investors, and community leaders, and it is a resume booster, Gray said.
The submission deadline is March 8, with oral presentations being held on April 5, but students have already logged several hours in preparation for the competition.
Teams in the past have put in up to 160 hours working on the business plan, said Jeri Koehler, business development specialist with RSU’s Center for Economic and Community Development.
For this year’s competition, students have identified an entrepreneur who has a patented product and is looking for a solid business model and business plan.
The students are working with the entrepreneur to figure out the best way to make money off the product, whether it is through manufacturing in mass quantities, or through direct marketing techniques, Koehler said.
Peter Woodson, the team’s leader, said that RSU is much smaller than most of the schools competing and that the university lacks some of the resources available to the competing schools.
“With RSU being the only regional university advancing to the finals round in the two previous years, we’ve accomplished a lot,” he said. “Our teams had to work hard to get where we did.”
Gray agrees: “Every year we have placed at least as a semifinalist. It’s just unprecedented. None of the other regional universities have made it as far as we have. So we are doing something right.”
And they hope to get there again this year, but even if they don’t, the competition is still beneficial to students according to Koehler because it is full of real-world experience, like leading a team, scheduling, researching, making commitments and following through.
“Previous students who have competed say they’ve learned more in this competition than through their entire college experience as a whole. More so, the experience solidified all the concepts they’ve learned in college,” said Koehler.
She encourages students to get involved for the experience and to build up their resumes. And while the students benefit, the university also benefits. RSU is typically the only regional state university to make it into the semi-finals and finals each year, and those high ranking say a lot about the university and it students.
“While our students aren’t able to compete at the NCAA level in athletics due to NAIA status, they are competing in the NCAA level in academics, which is a big pat on the back for RSU,” said Koehler.
This is Woodson’s second year to be involved in the competition and he said that it is a significant investment of time, but he feels it is worth the effort.
“It’s worth it when we can go toe to toe with schools like OU and OSU and come out on top. Seeing our efforts pay off and being able to talk with the business leaders of Oklahoma was a very rewarding experience,” said Woodson.