Thirty teams applied; 16 made it to the semi-finals and now just four teams have a chance to win the Joust Business Plan Competition which will be held on Friday, April 15.

The tournament is the signature competition of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI), which serves as a hub for academic entrepreneurship across UCF’s colleges and programs. “The Joust is UCF’s premier celebration of our students’ entrepreneurial aspirations, creativity and achievements. Approximately 400 students have been energized and enriched by this event over the years, and they have enriched us as well,” said Cameron Ford, founding director of the CEI.

(View a photo gallery of the semifinals on our Facebook page. You can also view a video of one of the panels of judges.)

The 16 semi-finalist teams presented in front of a panel of judges and were divided among four rooms. They had 12 minutes to give a presentation followed by eight minutes for questions from the panel. A winner was selected from each room to compete in the final competition.

The final four teams include:

  • Better Ways to Study, LLC presented by Ace Glenn. The majority of students are visual learners, yet most of the materials available to learn from lack any visual representations. Better Ways to Study, LLC produces visual study materials for college students to increase retention rates, understand concepts, and create an overall more effective studying experience.
  • Dave’s Market, presented by Matt Schaefer and Kyle Roach. Dave’s Market is a tribute to David Schaefer, a UCF student who was killed in an automobile accident this past October. The mission of this project is to provide a well thought out and profitable restaurant that incorporates David’s passion for cuisine, as well as good times with good friends.
  • Free In A Box, presented by Daniel Seeff. This is a marketing conduit, linking businesses directly to their student target market by offering free promotional materials. Seeff and his team will approach businesses whose target market is students and request free promotional products and specification of the audience they want to reach. Interested students can login to a website and provide information about themselves. They will then be notified of the free items they are eligible to receive. A shipment of the items will be sent to the student.
  • Oh My Groceries, presented by Nick Frazier. Oh My Groceries is a web-based service that provides subscribers with a weekly grocery list that combines local grocers’ specials with current manufacturers’ coupons to provide maximum savings. For a small weekly subscription fee, customers can expect to save approximately 60 to 80 percent on their weekly grocery bill.

    • The sponsor of the event was Steven Felkowitz, ’79. He is chief executive officer of Atico International and a College of Business Administration Hall of Fame member. Judges of the event included:

  • N. Lois Adams,’85;
  • Rick Baldwin, ’80;
  • Jeff Borysiewicz, ’95;
  • David Brim, ’08;
  • Frank Crum, ’72;
  • Nan C. Hillis;
  • Jay Jackson;
  • William M. Kehoe, ’91;
  • Laurette Koellner, ’77;
  • John Mahony, ’96;
  • Jeff K. McFadden;
  • Craig Miller, ’74;
  • Mark Moore, ’99;
  • Tim Myers, ’87 and ’94;
  • Dianne Owen, ’93;
  • Bill Peppler, ’96;
  • Thomas H. Ruggie, ’91;
  • Sanjay Scinavasan, ’95;
  • Tony Thornton, ’94,
  • William C. Sinton

    • Mark your calendar! The final will be held on Friday, April 15 at the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center at 1:30 p.m. Prizes include:

  • First place: $10,000 and one year virtual membership to the UCF Technology Incubator
  • Second place: $5,000
  • Third place: $3,000
  • Fourth place: $2,000