A senior at Brigham Young University, Mark Jensen, is the founder of
Altus Poles and the winner of Ball State University's Enterprise 8
business plan competition, which as held at John E. Worthen on Friday.
Jensen said he's been to a couple similar tournaments earlier this
year, but they weren't nearly as much fun because they were informal
and there wasn't a theme to the competition.
Maggie Ailes, program director of the Entrepreneurship Center, said
the university had to set itself apart from the crowd in order to
attract students to the competition. This is the 14th national
entrepreneurship tournament Ball State University has had.
"We thought a good way [to set ourselves apart] was to host a
tournament in Worthen Arena during March Madness," Ailes said.
About 150 seats were pulled out from the west bleachers, and almost
half of them were filled by business students, faculty and residents
from the area.
Senior business administration major Kara Kelley said before the
competition she was anxious to see what the tournament was all about.
She said the professional atmosphere wasn't what she was expecting.
Fred Hicks, an engineering consultant from Yorktown, said he wanted to
watch the competition to get some ideas for his company. He said he
regrets missing the competition last year, which was held at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
On Thursday, there was a free throw tournament to determine the
"bracket" of eight teams from various colleges, which would present
their business models to a panel of judges.
Ailes said it was fun to watch.
"Here's a bunch of academics playing basketball, and some of the girls
were very good," she said.
On Friday morning the competition began, and teams advanced to the
final four, then the championship round.
Jensen and his teammate Aaron Howcroft were the first to present in
the final round against Purdue University. At 2 p.m., the buzzer
sounded, and the clock began counting down their 15-minute
presentation.
Jensen began by talking about the durability and sustainability of
Altus Poles, which the team proposed using to replace wood and steel
telephone poles. Howcroft proceeded to explain the cost-effectiveness
of the poles, built in a concentric model out of composite material.
They entertained questions from the judges for half an hour, and then
the team from Purdue gave its presentation.
At the end of the day, Jensen and Howcroft were awarded $15,000 in a
cash prize from the competition sponsor Electronic Commerce
Incorporated. The prize will compliment the $93,000 the team has
already raised for their company Altus Poles.
"We have money. We're committed to it," Jensen said. "I graduate in
April, which is when this really takes effect.
Kelley said she was very impressed with their product.
"They're not students anymore," she said. "They're already professionals."
Read More
Three Air Jam teams take home the win
October 12, 2012Nineteen teams shimmied, shook and flipped for a sold out John R. Emens Auditorium on Thursday night during the 25th annual Air Jam.
Bill Clinton Speaks at North Central High School
October 12, 2012Former President's Speech Could Have Effect on State Senate Race
