It was a tight race, but students from Brigham Young University prevailed and took 15 of the 25 spots at the Utah Student 25 Awards, given to the top student entrepreneurs in Utah.
“As an entrepreneur, often times it feels like you’ve jumped off a cliff and you’re in free fall,” says Capture Beyond Limits CEO Kip Hacking, an electrical engineering senior from Langley, Wash. “It was great being recognized at this event to confirm that what I’m doing is worthwhile, and it was inspiring to hear from successful entrepreneurs that understand what it’s like to be in my position.”
Capture Beyond Limits finished No. 7 at the competition, held in Sandy, Utah. Other top finishers included Piper and Scoot founded by Kylee Middleton, a family life senior from Draper, Utah, at No. 3, and Elevate Athletics owned by Marshall Kinnison, an electrical engineering major from Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif, at No. 5.
Many students who participated in the Utah Student 25 built their businesses with the mentorship available at the BYU Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology, whose mission is to prepare students to be world-class leaders in their entrepreneurial roles. The center provides resources to help students and their businesses thrive, including its own competitions. Hacking and Middleton were both finalists at the center’s Student Entrepreneur of the Year event earlier this year before moving on to the statewide Utah 25.
The Utah Student 25 are awarded annually based on business revenue and profit. Stipulations were stringent, requiring participants to be not only in management positions, but also to be full-time students, have up-to-date financial records and own a significant portion of the company.
“Utah student entrepreneurs continue to astound us in their creativity, ambition and traction,” said Keith McCord, a long-time news anchor at KSL-TV in Salt Lake City who emceed the Utah 25 Event. “This year, in fact, broke many records for company growth, revenue and participation.”
Winning BYU student companies include:
No. 3 — Piper and Scoot
No. 5 — Elevate Athletics
No. 7 — Capture Beyond Limits
No. 9 — Acanela
No. 10 — MAKO
No. 11 — Bar N Ranch
No. 12 — Emberall
No. 13 — Recyclops
No. 14 — Cards2Life (BYU & UVU)
No. 15 — Bookroo
No. 16 — Hoops ASL
No. 18 — Kore Baseball Products
No. 20 — DAZI
No. 22 — KVM Global (BYU & UVU)
No. 23 — Stay Wear
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and public management. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: M'Leah Ricker