Four area residents who have completed the business development class at Ivy Tech
Community College-Northeast have started using what they learned to compete against each
other this summer — before they attempt to survive against more seasoned competition in the
business community.
They all want to found their own companies and are participating in “Launch: New Venture
Competition” for the chance to win seed money for their startup concepts.
Brad Hines wants to sell deep-fried comfort food at a ’50s restaurant in LaOtto. Krystle
McBride wants to sell shoes at a store with a medical professional on staff specializing in foot
care. Judy Neuenschwander wants to sell discarded material she
collects from businesses for recycling. And Olivia Fabian wants to sell online her custom-fitted
swimwear made of moisture-wicking material that dries fast enough for use away from the
water.
Those concepts already have bested business plans for a grooming salon, a pizza-and-wings
restaurant on Fort Wayne’s south side and an indoor venue with a pro shop for BMX,
skateboarding and other extreme sports.
As it originally was envisioned, Launch was to borrow a few pages from popular television
reality show playbooks, with weekly challenges eliminating participants who had failed to win
immunity by attracting the most social networking votes.
But as participants who also were taking the business development class at Ivy Tech
became better at critiquing their own business plans, three withdrew from Launch
and it moved on to the next phase of competition.
Participants collaborate with each other on weekly challenges and critique each other’s
performance. No one is eliminated, but performances are evaluated by James Tolbert, business
administration program chair for Ivy Tech, and Steve Franks, programs director for the
Northeast Indiana Innovation Center.
In addition to working together on the competition, both organizations have made prize
commitments. For a tech-driven business plan winner, the Innovation Center’s contribution
valued at $11,700 will include a cash grant of $2,500, a $3,200 internship and an in-kind grant
of office space for one year in the NIIC Student Venture Lab, valued at $6,000.
Ivy Tech has raised at least $17,000 for the prize and would like to
attract enough in contributions from the business community for the winner to receive a value of
up to $50,000.
Video will be shot at each of the weekly challenges, and it will be edited into a final video
presentation that will be reviewed by a panel of judges that includes small business loan
officers, business owners and angel investors at an August awards dinner.
For next year’s Launch, the competition may be opened to students who are in or have gone
through other programs at Ivy Tech in order to increase the number of participants, Tolbert said.
“Our intent is to promote economic development and job creation by launching student-owned
businesses, so we don’t want to restrict our pool,” he said.