Entrepreneurs take a shot at $8,000
By Ellie Dalton
Ever since he could remember, Kia Gull wanted to be an inventor.
The mechanical engineering senior even played with blueprints as a child.
Last Saturday, he took a step that could turn his dream into reality.
Students like Gull submitted a three-page business plan last week for the Huntsman College of Business Opportunity Quest. They are waiting to find out who made the top 10.
Once the finalists are chosen, they have until Jan. 22 to revise their presentations and videos and prepare their prototypes.
Each team will have 10 minutes to present to the judges. After the presentations, the judges will pick the top three. First place will receive $5,000 dollars, second place $2,000, and third place $1,000.
Mechanical engineering senior Julia Klingler said the competition gives students a chance to start up their own business.
“We give a lot of guidance with creating their business plans and walking them through the steps of actually forming their business in the first place or reforming it if they have already started it,” Klingler said.
During the two-month period in between the submission entries and the presentations, each of the teams meet with a mentor from the Huntsman School of Business.
“We assign them mentors from our founders’ board,” Klingler said. “So they [students] get to work side-by-side with professionals to further refine these plans and to help them to network and make connections to actually make things happen.”
Gull is one of the competitors in this year’s competition. He got the idea for his product while playing a video game.
“The eye portal is a patent-pending weapon attachment created by Kia Tech LLC which allows you to shoot accurately around cover,” Gull said.
Gull has been working with an Entrepreneurship Club consultant for the past few weeks in preparation for the entry deadline.
Consultant helps startups get off the ground, said economics senior Seth Christiansen.
“The difference between ideas and application is where we [consultants] fit in,” Christiansen said.
The club’s eight consultants serve for a full year and help students prepare entries for the competition as well as help a lot of student business actually function, operate and launch, Christiansen said.
Past winners of the competition have been successful in both getting their business started and maintained.
Cody Pickering won the contest last year at Utah State University and went on to win about half of the $40,000 in awards that are available at the state competition.
He currently goes to school in Colorado, pursuing a master’s degree on a full-ride scholarship while his business is also being funded.
The Entrepreneurship Club and the Entrepreneurship Center in the business building also offer students resources to get their ideas and businesses started.
“We do pitch nights,” Klingler said. “People have about one minute to present their business ideas then about one minute to answer questions from the audience. We do an audience vote at the end and the top one, two or three will get prizes.”
Entrepreneurial skills are important for every business, Klingler said.
It’s the networking, finances, marketing, and leadership skills that she learned in Entrepreneurship Club that helped her get an summer internship at Goldman and Sachs in Salt Lake City, Klingler said.
She was offered a full-time job after graduation, but turned it down.
“I am pursuing my own entrepreneurial endeavors once I’m done with school and I have time for it,” Klingler said. “I have a few ideas. I’m still deciding which one is most viable, but I’m leaning towards the non-profit route.”
Gull has spent about a year and more than $2,000 working on his prototype. He plans to move forward with his business plan regardless of whether or not he wins the Opportunity Quest.
“You can meet your dreams if your business plan and your product are up to par,” Gull said.
— elizabeth.dalton@aggiemail.usu.edu
@eddthegirl