East Central University business students captured several awards while competing in the Love’s Entrepreneur’s Cup competition held recently in Oklahoma City.
The Love’s Cup is a statewide competition, hosted by Innovation to Enterprise (i2E), that simulates the real-word process of researching a market, writing a business plan and pitching to potential investors.
ECU, led by advisor Dr. Stacey Bolin, had a first and third-place finish in the Small Business Division and a Small Business IT/App Interview winner.
The ECU team of Larisa Bolin, of Ada; Norbu Gurung, Ada and Kacee Schier, Antlers, with a company called “Ex-bac,” captured first place in the Small Business Division.
“Ex-bac” provides a medical grade gel proven to kill harmful bacteria such as Staph and E. Coli as an innovative method of disinfecting medical equipment without damaging expensive electronics used by health care professionals.
ECU’s Saurav Gurung, of Ada, was the IT/App Interview winner. His company is called “LikeaPro” which is an app that connects competitive golfers and tennis players with potential playing partners of similar skills by matching handicaps and rankings, then helping them book a tee time or tennis court on which to play their match.
The ECU team of Mackinsey Archer, of Choctaw, and Yashna Khadgi, of Washington, Oklahoma, with a company called “The Hairy Hotel,” took third place in the Small Business Division.
“The Hairy Hotel” is a luxury pet boarding business that solves the dilemma of where to leave a pet when going on vacation or business trip by offering a setting in which pets stay in a comfortable room with individual attention and group play time.
Another ECU student Erika Lara, of Pauls Valley, competed in the Small Business Division as well with a company called “RunNCount,” which has an app that aligns the caloric needs of runners with their weight loss plans in a customizable format that takes into consideration the height, weight and training plans of individual runners over periods as long as 20 weeks.
Through awards and prize money, the ECU students won a combined $17,000.
Bolin is assistant professor and Wilburn L. Smith Center for Entrepreneurship director in ECU’s Harland C. Stonecipher School of Business.
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