The College of Business and Technology will present its annual iBucs entrepreneurial start-up competition April 3 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Millennium Center, room 220.
In its fourth year, the competition calls on budding entrepreneurs to pitch a business plan in front of a panel of judges. All ETSU students can enter, and they can work individually or in teams.
Students will prepare a pitch deck and a two page business plan summary and have the option of getting mentored by a local angel investor or entrepreneur. They will then pitch their idea for five to six minutes in front of the panel, who will then have two minutes to ask questions.
The panel of judges will include entrepreneurs, business owners, venture capitalists and angel investors from the Tri-Cities region, and contestants can win $4,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place. There will also be other $500 prizes and free food and drinks.
Professor Sonu Mirchandani, who is also one of the competition’s sponsors, said some of the highlights from last year’s competition were wearable fitness accessories, next generation technology used for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, rapid deployment operations for first responders and emergency techs, event and campaign planning, music hardware and social media and restaurants.
Mirchandani said the competition allows students to network with companies within the region, as well as gain forward advice, exposure and access to active venture capital and angel investors, collaboration opportunities with peers and businesses within community, exposure and promotion of ideas, learning and sharing opportunities with other teams and pitch competition experience.
His vision is to see students activating their plans within the local region and working with local companies. With ideas and concepts shifting, he hopes students can contribute to key areas within the region such as rural health, medicine, chronic disease management and outdoor recreation.
“We are looking to see a larger variety of innovations, more social entrepreneurism, greater teaming across ETSU departments and a higher level of participation,” said Mirchandani. “In terms of areas of innovation that would directly benefit the region – rural health and outdoor recreation.”
Last year’s winners were Logan and Alexandria Craft with their business plan “Daily Eatz.” Their combination of business and technology and leadership backgrounds helped them win first prize for their website, which helps users to find the best food deals, whether they are a student looking for a college discount or a family looking to feed their kids for free. Mirchandani expects the couple to go live with their plan soon, and with the support of non-diluted funding and accelerators, other students can too.
The College of Business and Technology hopes to extend entry to other colleges in the Tri-Cities region in the future, bringing regional colleges together.
Students can enter online by March 20 at https://www.etsu.edu/ibucs/.
