By Jessica Legge
FAIRMONT — The West Virginia University Statewide Student Business Plan Competition has helped Ritchie County native Robert Loehr enter into a new and exciting chapter of his life.
Loehr, currently studying mechanical engineering with a minor in business at WVU, was awarded $10,000 for winning in the lifestyle category of the competition.
James Kearns, a WVU multidisciplinary studies student from Virginia, won in the innovation category.
This year’s contest was the third statewide competition that the WVU Entrepreneurship Center, housed in the College of Business and Economics, has held.
To enter the competition, students electronically submitted a three- to five-page summary of a business idea by the deadline of Oct. 1, 2008. Judges from the region’s business community then scored the papers and provided feedback.
The top 10 teams in each category — lifestyle and innovation — were selected out of 90 entries, which came from eight colleges and universities across West Virginia.
The second round of the competition took place at the West Virginia Entrepreneurship Initiative Conference at the Charleston Marriott on Nov. 12. At this annual meeting, which is for entrepreneurs and service providers, the 20 semifinalists each had two minutes to pitch their business idea to the conference attendees, who served as judges. Then for the second portion of round two, the teams went through a series of one-on-one interviews with a judging panel.
Five teams in each category were chosen as finalists in the business plan competition. In the spring semester, these students worked on writing their full business plans.
Mindy Walls, WVU Entrepreneurship Center director, said each team was required to attend a workshop weekend in February. During this educational seminar, they were partnered with an individual business coach, did a practice presentation and received extra counseling. Most of the teams also elected to take a three-credit course specifically designed for the competition.
“This provided additional online workshops and education for the students on all parts of the business plan,” she said.
The final round of the competition was held April 18 at WVU’s Ming Hsieh Hall. Each team had 20 minutes to present, followed by a 20 minute question-and-answer session with the judges. Once the five teams in each category were finished, they gathered with their families and the competition guests for a luncheon at Hatfields restaurant in the WVU Mountainlair, Walls said.
During that time, the judges met in a private room to decide on the two different teams — one in each category — that would win grand prizes of $10,000. Later that afternoon, they announced the winners.
In addition to the cash, Loehr and Kearns will also get legal services from Spilman Thomas and Battle, accounting services from Dixon Hughes, and either physical or virtual space in the WVU Business Incubator, Walls said.
“With this money, they are expected to start their business in West Virginia,” she said. “We want to give them every opportunity to be successful at doing that.”
Kearns won for his idea of reinforcing buildings with faulty foundations by using a drill rig to place supports. Walls said Kearns showed that his business plan for Deep Sticks Drilling was well thought out and workable, and the judges were very impressed by the progress he’d made.
Loehr, who has been riding and racing bicycles for a long time, said he had a pile of old bike parts that weren’t good enough to use but were too good to throw away. He experimented with the parts and found a way to reuse them. His business is called SpokeArt, and his Web site — www.spokeart.com — is up and running.
“I take old bike parts and turn them into accessories, like bracelets and earrings,” he said.
Loehr said he was really excited about winning in his category of the competition, and he could hardly believe it. He initially decided to enter the rigorous competition just to get the experience, but now he’s establishing his own business making “fashionably eco accessories.”
Before the competition, Loehr had no idea how to start a business or what happened in the real business world. He said he quickly learned “how many resources there are available to start a business in West Virginia.”
“It’s just a great way to make a lot of good contacts around the state, and it’s a great way to learn a lot about running your own business,” he said of the competition, which provides real-life experience.
Next, Loehr plans to set up a workshop in his house and start producing his jewelry items there. Tamarack will start selling his products in May, he said.
Loehr had some samples of his products that he showed the judges, and all of his items were purchased by people at the competition, Walls said. She said that was a good indicator of the potential success that lies ahead for SpokeArt.
“I thought they were great,” Walls said of the two winners. “They both are incredibly professional, diligent hard workers. Both have very viable businesses.”
Walls was also impressed by the other participants in the competition.
“Each year, I am astounded at the quality of the work that the students present,” she said. “I am always amazed at what the finalists do.”
During this year’s competition, Walls noticed that many of the finalists were focusing on green or health initiatives, which she said clearly shows where the market is going.
She said participants have often commented that the education they received and the exposure they got to business professionals were the most valuable things they gained from being a part of the competition. More than 100 people from the business community in West Virginia and surrounding states volunteered their time to help with the competition in some way, and that provided beneficial networking opportunities for the students.
The students who didn’t get to take $10,000 home still have a real business plan that they can show to investors and use to move their business forward, Walls said. The Statewide Student Business Plan Competition contributes to economic development in West Virginia.
“Based on the past several years history, I think we have seven businesses that are up and running that had their start in some form through the competition,” she said. “They’re operating businesses in West Virginia.”
E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.
