A group of Wartburg students will head to Fort Worth, Texas, this weekend to share their plans for making a difference while making a profit.
Led by Krystal Graves of Cedar Falls, the team, including Lindo Simelane, Cassandra Ward, Ashlee McGrown and Andre Green, will be one of 47 collegiate teams from across the U.S. and around the world competing in the Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures® Competition at Texas Christian University Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9.
Competing teams present business plans demonstrating a societal or environmental need to be filled, as well as profitability. More than 90 business leaders will serve as judges and mentors.
Allan Bernard, professor of business administration, is the team’s adviser, and Michael Murphy, a 1989 Wartburg graduate, sponsored their trip.
The Wartburg team’s proposal is a food truck operation, dubbed The Best Trucking Burrito, which will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner options for working and on-the-go customers in the Cedar Valley. The menu would feature ingredients from local farm suppliers, with 2 percent of profits returning to the Cedar Falls Food Co-op. Additionally, the business would commit to service at area food banks.
“I was actually a huge fan of the sausage McSkillet burrito at McDonald’s, and they got rid of that. I was like, ‘There is no other good breakfast burrito in the area; I have to bring one here,’” Graves said, adding that the social responsibility piece comes, in part, because of her Wartburg education. “I just feel like it is instilled in me to make that piece of this venture happen.”
Team members hope to raise $25,000—the same amount as the competition’s grand prize—and secure $75,000 in investments to cover additional start-up costs.
The team benefits from the experience and support of Graves’ family, which previously owned and operated Waffle Stop Grill and now own and operate Gravy’s Diner in Cedar Falls, both specializing in short-order breakfast items.
“My parents have gone through what I am going through now, with getting people on board with their idea, when they first came to Cedar Falls,” Graves said.
All teams will compete Friday morning in seven simultaneous flights, followed by a lightning round of the second-place teams from each flight. The top two teams from the lightning round and the top team from each flight will advance to the finals Saturday morning.
Adding another chance to win, all teams will compete in an elevator pitch competition Saturday. Winners will be announced Saturday afternoon.
The grand prize is $25,000, with $15,000 going to second place and $10,000 to third place. Additional prizes bring the total to be awarded to $70,000.
“I am proud to work with this team both for this competition and in their entrepreneurship class, and I look forward to their participation in this exciting competition,” Bernard said. “I know they will make Wartburg proud and set a great example for future teams from the college.” The competition is presented each year by the TCU Neeley Entrepreneurship Center and Dallas real estate entrepreneurs Nancy Tartaglino Richards and Lisa Barrentine.
For a complete list of competing universities teams and business plans, visit neeley.tcu.edu/vandv.
Led by Krystal Graves of Cedar Falls, the team, including Lindo Simelane, Cassandra Ward, Ashlee McGrown and Andre Green, will be one of 47 collegiate teams from across the U.S. and around the world competing in the Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures® Competition at Texas Christian University Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9.
Competing teams present business plans demonstrating a societal or environmental need to be filled, as well as profitability. More than 90 business leaders will serve as judges and mentors.
Allan Bernard, professor of business administration, is the team’s adviser, and Michael Murphy, a 1989 Wartburg graduate, sponsored their trip.
The Wartburg team’s proposal is a food truck operation, dubbed The Best Trucking Burrito, which will offer breakfast, lunch and dinner options for working and on-the-go customers in the Cedar Valley. The menu would feature ingredients from local farm suppliers, with 2 percent of profits returning to the Cedar Falls Food Co-op. Additionally, the business would commit to service at area food banks.
“I was actually a huge fan of the sausage McSkillet burrito at McDonald’s, and they got rid of that. I was like, ‘There is no other good breakfast burrito in the area; I have to bring one here,’” Graves said, adding that the social responsibility piece comes, in part, because of her Wartburg education. “I just feel like it is instilled in me to make that piece of this venture happen.”
Team members hope to raise $25,000—the same amount as the competition’s grand prize—and secure $75,000 in investments to cover additional start-up costs.
The team benefits from the experience and support of Graves’ family, which previously owned and operated Waffle Stop Grill and now own and operate Gravy’s Diner in Cedar Falls, both specializing in short-order breakfast items.
“My parents have gone through what I am going through now, with getting people on board with their idea, when they first came to Cedar Falls,” Graves said.
All teams will compete Friday morning in seven simultaneous flights, followed by a lightning round of the second-place teams from each flight. The top two teams from the lightning round and the top team from each flight will advance to the finals Saturday morning.
Adding another chance to win, all teams will compete in an elevator pitch competition Saturday. Winners will be announced Saturday afternoon.
The grand prize is $25,000, with $15,000 going to second place and $10,000 to third place. Additional prizes bring the total to be awarded to $70,000.
“I am proud to work with this team both for this competition and in their entrepreneurship class, and I look forward to their participation in this exciting competition,” Bernard said. “I know they will make Wartburg proud and set a great example for future teams from the college.” The competition is presented each year by the TCU Neeley Entrepreneurship Center and Dallas real estate entrepreneurs Nancy Tartaglino Richards and Lisa Barrentine.
For a complete list of competing universities teams and business plans, visit neeley.tcu.edu/vandv.