Five Finalists Compete on April 20 in FAU’s Business Plan Competition Finals

MEDIA CONTACT: Jim Hellegaard
561-319-2233, jhellegaard@fau.edu

BOCA RATON, Fla. (April 12, 2017) – Florida Atlantic University has announced the five finalists that will compete in this year’s FAU Business Plan Competition, hosted by FAU’s Adams Center for Entrepreneurship and the College of Business.

The event will take place on Friday, April 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in room 101 of the Office Depot Center at the FAU College of Business, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus. The competition encourages FAU students, faculty, staff and recent graduates to pitch their game-changing ideas for a chance to obtain funding for their new ventures. Team presentations will take place from 9 to 11:30 a.m. The five finalists are:

Aroma & Beauty creates hand-made essential oil blends and natural skin-care products using elements that hold the concentration of active ingredients to effectively fight skin deficiencies and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Contiguity Spatial Solutions provides customized solutions to businesses in the geospatial field by specializing in developing tools and applications using the latest technologies. CSS takes charge of understanding the needs and gaps of companies in this field and applying new technology to solve these problems.

iCheev was created to help life coaches and their clients achieve measurable and meaningful results. This web-based application helps coaches streamline and manage their businesses, therefore allowing the coach to focus more on coaching.

Lock It Plates provides a secure and more reliable way to transport food and perishables for the world in an inexpensive and accessible way compared to traditional food containers. They have designed the first lockable, disposable, reusable and secure plastic plates that make eating on the go that much easier.

• Roizo creates innovative strength training products that increase the performance of athletes. Roizo’s new grip apparel technology is aimed at changing the current athletic landscape, starting with the Roizo grip shirt, grip sleeves and grip socks.

 Kunal Mehta will deliver the keynote speech from 1 to 1:30 p.m. A New York City-based venture capitalist, Mehta is an author and former entrepreneur who documents the stories of the bold risk-takers that change the world through technology and social impact. This will be followed by the awards ceremony from 1:30 to 2 p.m.

First prize is $10,000, second prize $5,000 and third prize $2,500. The best interdisciplinary team and the People Choice winner each will be awarded $1,000.

Along with prize money, teams compete for legal and business services, space at FAU’s Tech Runway and the opportunity to present their business plan to local angel investors, venture capital groups and more. Competitors have the opportunity to meet and network with successful entrepreneurs, and resources are provided to aid students in the creation and implementation of their businesses.

Sponsors of the event include Martin Greenberg (Platinum Sponsor), SBA Communications (Silver Sponsor) and Northwestern Mutual (Bronze Sponsor).

“We’re very excited that our students have created high quality, high potential businesses for this year’s finals,” said Roland Kidwell, Ph.D., director of the Adams Center for Entrepreneurship and professor and chair of the Department of Management Programs within FAU’s College of Business. “The student competition indicates the importance of entrepreneurship to FAU and to the South Florida community. We expect that some of these student businesses will become high growth ventures in the near future.”

This event is free and open to the public. RSVP at business.fau.edu/bpc. For more information, email adamscenter@fau.edu. 

- FAU -

About Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit www.fau.edu.