Two local students from Viola and Mount Pleasant are part of a three-member team competing in the 11th annual Arkansas State University Innovate Business Idea Competition.Jonathan Martin of Viola and Ty Cornelius of Mount Pleasant, along with Madison Melton of Jonesboro, pitched the “Triple S: Snappy Sun Shade,” a vehicle windshield sunshade that automatically deploys in case customers forget to put it up.
The three were among 31 students from across the university presented a full business plan or a 90-second elevator pitch to a panel of judges. Winning students have the option to compete in the Governors Cup in spring 2020.
The competition was sponsored by the Arkansas Economic Acceleration Foundation, a unit of Arkansas Capital Group, a privately held group of corporations focused on improving the lives of Arkansans by providing capital investment to businesses.
The business plan competition was started by Dr. Nareatha Studdard, a former professor in management and marketing, as a business plan competition in 2008. These events, part of Global Entrepreneurship Week, a worldwide initiative, awarded a total of $1,500 this year in cash prizes.
To-date, these competitions have distributed over $25,000 in prizes to students and have helped teams prepare for the Governor’s Cup, at which teams from A-State have gone on to win more than $75,000.
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