Three teams with Brigham Young University students finished first, second and third at the University of Utah Entrepreneurial Challenge. Tropi-Cool, SilentWhistle.com and The Mayan Tree beat out seven other finalists to claim prizes at the April competition. Tropi-Cool, a company specializing in Mexican ice cream treats, won $40,000 for their first-place finish.
Tropi-Cool was founded by Brandon Hatch, a junior at BYU majoring in recreation management from Chihuahua, Mexico, and Michael Stebinger, a senior in business management at Utah Valley State College from Westminster, Calif. The Latin-style ice cream parlor sells genuine Mexican fresh-fruit bars, high-quality ice cream and fresh-fruit drinks. Their products come in many unique flavors such as avocado, rice pudding, pistachio and mango.
SilentWhistle.com, second-place winner, was started by Adam Edmunds, Marcello Surjopolos, Corbett Greenhalgh, Brent Dykes and Dean Johnson. SilentWhistle.com is an online reporting system to encourage whistle blowing within companies in order to prevent, identify and control risks resulting from illegal or unethical activities.
The Mayan Tree, a producer and marketer of tropical food products, such as dried mango and pineapple slices, won third place at the Entrepreneurial Challenge. The company will provide significant economic and social development opportunities to the local indigenous Mayan Q’eqchi’ people in Guatemala’s Polochic Valley. The Mayan Tree’s executive board is comprised of Scott Porter, Levi Smylie, Larry Clawson, Jared Hansen, Brooke Hart, Gloria Mladineo, Leah Moses and Alisa Allred.
The Utah Entrepreneur Challenge was started by Stuart Fetzer in 1998 and has become one of the top business plan competitions in Utah and the nation. Teams were judged on the likelihood of turning their ideas into successful businesses. A 12-judge panel made up of: venture capitalists, lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs and business leaders selected winners based on creativity, effort and presentation skills. At least one member of each team was required to be a student at a Utah college or university. Business plan entries also had to come from companies less than 2 years old.
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, public management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
Writer: Lauren Funk (801) 422-1512