“Cha-ching!” chanted student Patricia Rogers as she took the $30,000 grand prize Friday in the final round of the University of the Virgin Islands’ 13D Student Entrepreneurship Competition.
Rogers and her fellow competitors battled for $30,000, $20,000, and $10,000 to invest in their business models. Rogers came out on top with a proposal to establish a large egg farm, Heba Abdallah and Ghadeer Taha won second place with a lab equipment rental and leasing idea, and Shoshana Pemberton took third place with dreams of a roller skate rink.
“We were looking for a business that was real, that would actually launch, and then have the potential to be a success and grow,” said panelist Alex Randall, a professor of communication at UVI.
Six panelists decided the fate of eight teams as they pitched business ideas that had evolved over the course of seven months. The competition began in October with 72 students who participated in panels during November, January and February. Judges provided feedback and some teams were eliminated, while others with viable goals and ideas continued.
Teams were critiqued in three areas: quality of the business idea, how well the team developed the idea, and whether or not the judges would invest in the idea. UVI professor Glenn Metts noted that judges also considered what kind of businesses are needed in the Virgin Islands.
Rogers’ lively presentation roused listeners as they laughed at jokes and played with party favors. She noted her excitement at being able to invest her ideas back into her community.
“People do egg farming on a small scale, but we want to capture the market. We want to bring money to the Virgin Islands,” she said.
Other ideas ranged from customer service training centers to adventurous all-terrain vehicle excursions. Groups elaborated on financial estimates, strengths and weaknesses of ideas, and research they had gathered throughout the seven-month competition.
“The prize money is just a little bit of seed funds, but it doesn’t solve the problem,” said Metts. “But it does initiate things and encourage investors.”
Metts also said that, although everyone didn’t win prize money, investors and entrepreneurs were at the meeting and interested in students’ ideas.
Of course, judges noted, the students still had a long way to go. All of the students had areas in their business plans that needed to be expanded upon, many students would need more investors to start, but most of all they needed to think of new, innovative ways to convince people that their way of conducting their specific business is the right way, Randall said.
“We know this is just the beginning. This is an investment in the future of the territory,” said UVI President David Hall. “It’s a sacred investment that must be used in a sacred way.”
The competition was open to UVI undergraduate and graduate students. It was funded by a $5 million gift to UVI from Kiril Sokoloff, an investment strategist and entrepreneur who founded 13D Research, based on St. Croix.
