The “Final Four” has been set for the annual Joust New Venture Competition at the UCF College of Business Administration (#UCFBusiness). The finals are open to the public and will take place on Friday, April 17, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. in Business Administration 1, Room 107 on the UCF main campus.

A livestream of the event will be available at http://bit.ly/2015JoustStream.

The Joust is one of the premier events of the #UCFBusiness Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Students present their models for a viable business venture and compete to win money and other resources to pursue their venture.

Presenting sponsors for The Joust are Golden Knight Capital (Steven Felkowitz, ’79, and Ken Cox) and DigiThinkIT, Inc.

Additional sponsors include Accenture, Burr+Forman, LLP, CohnReznick, LLP, CoLab and Nperspective, LLC.

This year’s finalists will compete for $75,000 in cash and essential business services.

  • Talon Simulations (Brandon Naids, Justin Brooks, Jordan Griffin, Maurice Roberts), a company that seeks to bring affordable training solutions to various industries to aid in saving lives and changing lives
  • Feynman Nano (Jon Wachob, Brandon Carpenter, Jayan Thomas), which provides cost-efficient nanostructures through an innovative manufacturing process, increasing the efficiency of Solar Panel (PV) energy generation
  • W.A.G.N.E.R. Industries Corp. (Glenn Wagner, Cameron Johnson, Kelvin Ly, David Rubiano, Chris Stevens, Roman Williams), dedicated Rapid Launching & Responsive Space services
  • Ze-Bra (Ashley Miller), an online-based bra subscription service that delivers personalized bra selections to customers quarterly

    • Semifinals judges included:

  • Paul Gregg, ‘74 & ‘76
  • Ed Furey
  • Scott Buescher
  • Jim Balaschak, ‘86 & ‘92
  • Julie Gaines
  • Jesse E. Graham, Jr.
  • Sheila Jordan, ‘86
  • Jim Handoush
  • Terry McNew, ‘86
  • Chip Headley
  • John Hussey
  • Alex Santos
  • Paul Ordynski, ‘91
  • Russell Slappey
  • Karen Tilstra, Ph.D.
  • Rick Wassel, ‘90

    • About the College of Business Administration:

    Established in 1968, the UCF College of Business Administration offers degrees at the bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral, and executive levels. All programs, as well as the Kenneth G. Dixon School of Accounting are accredited by AACSB International – the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

    The college provides high-quality academic programs designed to give students a competitive advantage in the world of business now and in the future. As such, the college establishes partnerships with some of the nation’s most innovative leaders to model new and best practices that harness evolving technology. In addition, the college promotes a unique culture of engagement, risk-taking, cross-disciplinary collaboration and data-driven decision making in an effort to ensure students are well prepared to enter a dynamic marketplace.

    America’s Partnership University:
    The University of Central Florida, the nation’s second-largest university with nearly 60,000 students, has grown in size, quality, diversity and reputation in its first 50 years. Today, the university offers more than 200 degree programs at its main campus in Orlando and more than a dozen other locations. UCF is an economic engine attracting and supporting industries vital to the region’s future while providing students with real-world experiences that help them succeed after graduation. For more information, visit https://www.ucf.edu/news/.