Oklahoma team wins Governor’s Cup in Las Vegas
The Journal Record
5/16/2008

LAS VEGAS – If the business plans pitched by Oklahoma college students in Las Vegas this week are any indicator, the state’s economic future is bright, Sam Walls III said Wednesday.

“Oklahoma fielded some really solid teams, there’s no question about it. These guys were tough,” said Walls, one of the judges of the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Award, the final stage of the annual Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition. The vice president of Arkansas Capital Corp. Group is also one of the original founders and sponsors of the event.

Two graduate and two undergraduate student teams from Oklahoma competed this week against a like number from Arkansas and Nevada. The event is hosted by the nonprofit, venture-promoting i2E agency in Oklahoma and the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation.

The top tri-state prize of $25,000 in the undergraduate category went to the Nantiox team from the University of Oklahoma. Team members William Cunningham, Derek Perkins, Chris Shilling, and John Woodson were led by Kim Saylor and joined by faculty advisor P. Lloyd Hildebrand. Last month Nantiox won second place at the state level, worth $10,000.

The second-place tri-state award of $10,000 for an undergraduate business proposal went to Perpetual Pharmaceuticals from OU. Team member Blaine Stansel and team leader Pauline Sein were joined by faculty advisor Lowell Busenitz. Last month the team won first place at the state level, worth $20,000.

Although they did not win an additional award this week in Vegas, the OU team that created SyntheSized Nano Coatings LLC won first place and $20,000 in the undergraduate category at the state level last month.
Team members Chas Gilmore, Tyler Ledlow, and Brendon Quick were led by Ben Ikard and joined by faculty advisor David Townsend. And in the graduate category at the state level last month, second place and $10,000 went to the RedVault team from the University of Tulsa. Team members Fernando Bermudez and James Johnson were led by Michelle Witt and joined by faculty advisor Claire Cornell.

The teams’ presentations this week were thorough and nearly professional grade, said judge Gregory J. Edwards, executive at Oklahoma City-based Mesa Capital Partners and chairman of CASS Holdings LLC.

“They were bright, enthusiastic and passionate. The Oklahoma teams did very well,” he said. “They need some more polishing. But I think they’re very investible businesses.”

Comparing the diverse products and tech-focused services against each other might seem difficult, Walls said – after all, the ideas included a cotton fabric-enhancing treatment, document imaging data encryption and clothing manufacturing – but in the end the judges all came to the same point.

“They balance a lot of things, starting with viability – could this really work in the market?” Walls said.

“A lot of it’s presentation. In the real world, I get to hear venture capital presentations all the time, and they’ve got to be able to sell it to people who are prepared to put up real money. So there’s a bit of showmanship involved. ... And you definitely have to demonstrate you know your market and the key financials.”

When asked about any weak spots in the Oklahoma teams’ presentations, Walls broadened the scope of the question.

“Invariably, regardless of which state they’re from or whether they’re graduates or undergraduates, I hear the same thing from the judges,” he said. “They (the students) lack a real appreciation for all of the stuff that could go wrong.

“Because they’ll say, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’ ‘It will cost us this much money,’ and ‘We’ll do it in this timeline.’ But they’re talking to a table filled with guys who have seen companies come and go, who have taken part in successful businesses and who have been part of bad ones,” Walls said of the judges panel. “And every one of them have seen it happen: You need to put more money into the plan, or it’s going to take longer than you realize. It’s just street wisdom.

... These students still need seasoning.”

Editor’s note: In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that reporter Brian Brus was invited to attend the competition at the expense of i2e.

The Journal Record

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