RAPID CITY, SD (Dec. 9, 2019) — The
sixth annual CEO
Business Plan Competition at the South
Dakota School of Mines & Technology wrapped up Saturday with female
students taking home all but one of the top prizes. The competition is themed
after the popular television program “Shark Tank,” which challenges
entrepreneurs to present a business plan to a panel of expert judges.
The winners took home more than
$7,000 in total prize money that can be used toward their business ideas.
South Dakota Mines doctoral student
Anahita Haghizadeh nabbed top prize with her business proposal, NanoHSink,
winning the $3,000
award. NanoHSink focuses on fabricating nanostructures to increase surface area
for heat sink materials for LED bulbs.
Maryam Amouamouha, a Mines doctoral student, took home the second-place
award of $2,000 and the first-place award of $1,000 in the Best Agricultural
Plan category with her company Aqua Smart Solutions. The business would provide
green, stand-alone and advanced systems for residential and commercial
wastewater treatment.
Third place went
to Carissa Hauck and Bianca Hutzler, Black Hills State University,
for their business Scobi Kombucha. Hauck and Hutzler took home $1,000 for their
kombucha business.
In the high
school category, Rapid City Stevens High School student Elizabeth Wright took
top prize for her business proposal Wild Yarrow Designs, and Paul Wehrung of
Spearfish took second place for his proposal Romulus & Remus. Wright takes
home $500.
The
competition is open to all West River high schools, as well as neighboring
higher education institutions Black Hills State University, Western Dakota
Tech, National American University and Chadron State College. Participants
in the SD Mines CEO Program attend on-campus business plan training throughout
the semester and receive assistance from the Small Business Development Center
in preparing financial statements, as well as mentoring from local business
leaders and SD Mines’
Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.
Teams
who compete in the SD Mines CEO Program often take their business plans to
compete statewide at the South Dakota Governor’s Giant
Vision Awards.
Mines students who have competed in the CEO Competition have gone on to win the
Governor’s Giant Vision Award
the last five years.
In
the past, student business plans have ranged from a vortex generator and energy
saving window films to guidance devices for the blind.
CEO Competition sponsors are Black Hills Energy, Ascent
Innovation, Big D Oil, Golden West Technology and Internet Solutions, Regional
Health, South Dakota Governor’s Office of Economic Development, South Dakota
School of Mines & Technology Office of the President, Darren Haar, Sioux
Steel Company, and West River Electric
Association.