Arkansas Tech University students Sidney Loosey Parker and Eliza Mikles captured the top prizes in the inaugural Spark Tank business idea competition hosted by the ATU Center for Community Engagement and Academic Outreach and the Co-Create Innovation Hub.
Loosey Parker earned the $1,000 first-place prize in the for-profit competition with her idea for “MoodMist,” a flameless diffuser that syncs with the user’s smart phone calendar to change scents depending upon his or her schedule in order to optimize mood and focus.
Mikles won the $1,000 first-place prize in the non-profit competition with her idea for “Love, Mom,” an initiative to provide free birthday cakes and party essentials for disadvantaged children.
Loosey Parker is completing her Master of Business Administration degree from Arkansas Tech this spring, while Mikles is a second-year undergraduate student at ATU. They both reside in Russellville.
The pitches were made in the Bibler Conference Center at ATU’s Ferguson Student Union on Wednesday, April 29. Entry into the contest was open to any Arkansas Tech student.
“What you learn in the classroom is important, but the ability to apply it in a business setting is so important,” said Dr. Russell Jones, ATU president, while presenting the winners with their prizes. “This really prepares you as much as what you do in the classroom. One of the things that I find students aren’t prepared for is to sell themselves in interviews. When you learn how to sell a product, you also learn how to sell yourself.”
Second-place prizes of $250 each were awarded to Xzavier Jackson in the for-profit category and Erin Rascon in the non-profit category.
Rose Gunther (for-profit category) and Rafael Raya (non-profit category) earned the third-place prizes of $100 each.
Tara and Chris Abington of Co-Create Innovation Hub sponsored the cash prizes.
Other individual competitors were Cogan Hester, Samuel Spann, Gavin Wilson, Gabe Horn and Sylvia Anderson. Team entries featured Isaiah Adams, Joshua Golden and Malya Wilburd as well as Carter Ayers, Damian Kimbrough, Matthew Miller and Gavin Jones.
Each business idea pitch lasted 90 seconds and was judged based upon the quality of the hook, clarity, feasibility, market need, persuasiveness and delivery.
The judging panel consisted of Stephanie Duffield, chair of the ATU Board of Trustees; Bryan Fisher, ATU vice president for advancement; Suzanne McCall, ATU vice president for administration and finance; Andy McNeill, founder of Denali Water Solutions, owner of Jackalope Cycling and The Old Bank and founding partner of Magazine Capital Management; and Fred Teague, mayor of Russellville.
Dr. Jason Warnick, ATU professor of psychology, served as master of ceremonies.
For more information about the ATU Center for Community Engagement and Academic Outreach, visit www.atu.edu/ipbl.
For more information about Co-Create Innovation Hub, visit www.cc-hub.com.
