The Ivy College of Business hosted a Business Model Canvas Competition from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday in the Gerdin Business Building.
Paul Sanchez-Ruiz, assistant professor of management and entrepreneurship, explained the Business Model Canvas style, with which all of the presentations were formatted.
“Business Model Canvas is a strategic use of a model that explains how entrepreneurs connect with customers and other stakeholders, the value that they are creating and for whom and overall the economic structure of their businesses,” Sanchez-Ruiz said.
There were 13 teams that participated in the competition, with the top 3 teams winning $1,000, $500 and $250 cash prizes.
“They can use it for paying tuition or building their libraries, but overall, it’s incentivizing the students to think more entrepreneurially,” Sanchez-Ruiz said. “Whether they launch their businesses or not, that is up to them, but we want to create and cultivate this culture of entrepreneurship.”
The winning team consisted of Chris Kondiles, a junior studying management information systems and applied AI, and Andrew Jicha, a freshman studying finance. They presented a smart hockey stick system that presents shot data and analysis in a mobile app.
“What it will do is take in data, including your shot, precision, speed, release, quickness of the puck, and it will convert that into readable data onto a mobile app,” Kondiles said.
Jicha said their idea for the product came from their experiences playing hockey.
“We both grew up playing hockey and still play hockey, so kind of utilizing that concept of how much we love the game and how we can grow it for the future,” Jicha said.
When Jicha found out about the opportunity, he asked Kondiles to join in.
“I reached out to Chris to see if he was down to do it, and fortunately for me, he was,” Jicha said. “Once we got past the [Business Model] Canvas page, we have been prepping for the last week or so, meeting together for two hours for this moment.”
“It teaches us about presenting, about pitching ideas to others, and it also helps us learn more about other people and what they’re looking for, and what our goal is to accomplish,” Kondiles said. “We’re trying to, you know, get a lot of people to learn more about hockey, and in that process, they’re gonna learn more about how our product will be beneficial.”
Anastasha Mealy, a junior in marketing, presented her service “Rent-A-Return,” designed to make online shopping returns easier for customers.
“Rent-A-Return is a third-party courier system that will come to your house, dorm or apartment, wherever you may be and pick up returns,” Mealy said.
By picking the packages up from your doorstep, Mealy said it reduces the hassle of returning products to online retailers.
“Personally, and for so many other people, online returns are such a hassle,” Mealy said. “It’s so much work and it’s so inconvenient, and I think I’d be much more inclined to return something and get my money back if it was a hassle-free experience.”
Mealy said the competition was helpful in preparing professional skills.
“It enhances so much of your critical thinking skills, it helps you with problem-solving, which is always going to be essential when you get into the workforce,” Mealy said. “I think that life is about taking every opportunity you get and stepping outside of your comfort zone.”
For more information on events at the Ivy College of Business, visit this website.
