Three UA Student Teams Win Culverhouse Business Plan Competition

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Three University of Alabama student teams are on their way to starting their own businesses after winning the Culverhouse College of Commerce’s 2015 Edward K. Aldag Jr. Business Plan Competition.

The competition is in its second year and is designed to encourage students to start their own businesses.

A 360 degree dashboard camera for law enforcement, a soap cloth for on the go and a medical splint are the three winning ideas from the competition.

“This competition is exciting because it sparks creative ideas for businesses that will fuel the local and state economy,” said Dr. J. Michael Hardin, dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce. “We congratulate all the winners and look forward to seeing these students further develop their businesses.”

Ten teams made the semi-finals. Those teams then pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges in the live rounds. The three winning ideas and teams were announced April 10 at the grand finale at The Edge Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in downtown Tuscaloosa.

The three teams each receive one year of co-working space at The Edge Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, one hour of consulting with Rosen Harwood attorneys at law, consulting with Jamison Money Farmer and mentoring by UA faculty and staff.

The winners (in alphabetical order of business plan names) are:

Dash Cam – a 360-degree camera that can be used on the dashboard of law enforcement vehicles for recording full view rather than the current front only view.

Team Members – Cody Caver, from Hattiesburg, Mississippi; Carson Davis, from Maryville, Tennessee; and Ryan Hazel, from Lacey’s Spring.

InstaSplint – a medical point of injury splint aimed at military, relief and sports groups. The devise combines NASA technology with modern innovation in responding to common injuries with first aid.

Team Members – Alex Kersey, from Houston, Texas; Noah Resendez, from Harlingen, Texas; and Clayton Wagenhals, from Conifer, Colorado.

Soap N Go – a unique soap formula impregnated onto a single-use woven cloth that can be activated with water anytime, anywhere.

Team Members – Gretchen Landego, from Dovers Grove, Illinois; Joey Neff, from Dayton, Ohio; Vincent Philippe, from Marietta, Georgia; and Thomas Wesley, from Amherst, Ohio.

The judges were Ken Pecot, vice president of Global Services for Tektronix Communications, based in Plano, Texas and Terry Taylor, manager of the Technology Transfer Office at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

The Edward K. Aldag Jr. Business Plan Competition is made possible with an endowed gift from Aldag, who is a class of 1986 Culverhouse alumnus, and the founder/CEO of Medical Properties Trust of Birmingham.