2021 President’s Cup Business Plan Competition
The President’s Cup (formerly the Trepp Competition) is the culmination of SNC’s business plan competition series. It uses the same rubrics and criteria as the pre-2018 statewide and tri-state business plan competitions. The judges come from both the faculty and the North Shore business community. The competitors are judged on their written business plan; their ability to adapt and incorporate feedback into a revised written plan; and finally, live oral presentations.
The President’s Cup presentation evening is one of the most exciting events of the academic year. It attracts an enthusiastic audience from both the college and community. The teams present their business ideas to a panel of external judges. Their presentations use PowerPoint, video, and sometimes working physical prototypes. Each team has five minutes to make their pitch, present a short market analysis and financial summary, and respond to questions from the judges.
Due to the COVID pandemic, the 2021 President’s Cup competition on April 21 was conducted over Zoom.
The 2021 President’s Cup Business Plan Competition Winner
Luke Pederson and Caden Hansen’s proposal for BellCow BioCycling was this year’s winner, taking the entire $5,000 prize money pool.
“BellCow BioCycling strives to be the first company with modular facilities to collect and process otherwise discarded organic waste locally to produce valuable organic fertilizer for a variety of uses. Our mission at BellCow BioCycling is to reduce strain on landfills, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and develop clean, valuable products at the same time. .. [The] company uses an innovative anaerobic digester made by Impact Bioenergy that produces a renewable natural gas (RNG) and a rich liquid fertilizer, derived from natural resources that are traditionally treated as trash. Our company will power our headquarters and our trucks with the renewable natural gas that we produce from the organic waste that we will collect. Our sellable product is the organic fertilizer.”
Read Luke and Caden’s full business plan
2021 Competitors:
Cali Carlson– Breath Mask Co.
Ibon Mintegui Rivera– FitBon
Mallorie Miller– Race Administrators International
Mateo González de las Heras– Aura
Luke Pederson and Caden Hansen– BellCow BioCycling
The East-West Innovation Bowl
For the first time this year, some of the President’s Cup competitors took the opportunity to hone their presentations in the East-West Innovation Bowl on April 16. This competition is a joint effort by SNU and Georgia Highlands College. SNU’s Cali Carlson (Breath Mask) and Mateo González de las Heras (AURA) faced off against Georgia Highlands students Erika Whittenbrook & Brea Wells (ALLFULL Container), Lance Philip (Communication Application), and Tommy Sullivan & Tynasia Bunting (Athletic Balm).
SNU student Mateo González de las Heras was the individual winner of the event. He will receive a prize of $600 from the SNU Business Dept. SNU student Cali Carlson also placed, for $400 in prize money. Georgia Highlands College had the highest team score for the trophy… but SNU will have the chance to win it back next spring!
Check out the East-West Innovation Bowl on Youtube
The business plan competition series at Sierra Nevada University, hosted by SNU’s Business department, is a cornerstone of our commitment to our students’ professional preparedness and entrepreneurial thinking.
All SNU Tahoe students are eligible to compete in the business plan competitions, which mirror the idea-to-fruition process of launching a new product or enterprise. At each event participants present in front of a live audience. They receive detailed feedback from judges drawn from the business faculty and Lake Tahoe’s large community of successful entrepreneurs and business innovators. Throughout, they have the opportunity to work with faculty and community mentors to develop their project to a professional level.