10 | INNOVISION MAGAZINE Narrowing down forty-two business idea submissions to six was quite the feat, Dr. Jeffrey Wehrung announced at the foot of the Schaeffer Auditorium within KU’s Learning Center building. Wehrung presented the random order of the six contestants: Emma Wetzel, Juan Vargas-Elvira, Sarah Misselhorn, Jason Fliegelman, Ray Wells, and Brendan Noska. The theater audience contained fellow students, faculty, judges, and family members of the chosen six contestants for the College of Business’ twelfth annual Business Idea Competition. The six KU students sat together on stage right, permeating an eager energy as Wehrung began the night with introductions, judging criterion, and directives for the presenters. The sponsor of the evening’s event was Total Solutions Group Founder and CEO, Jack Gottlieb (’00). The four judges, John Stetler, John Dever, Janine Birch (’05), and Ken Ritter all coming from business backgrounds of varying departments and fields sat center stage. Two of the judges (Stetler and Dever) work with KU’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) and encouraged each contestant, as well as those who didn’t make the finals, to bring their ideas to the SBDC for additional support following the competition. Each student had worked with a business mentor who had helped them plan their product, financials, customer segmentation, and marketing plans in the months prior to the competition. With only five minutes to present, the contestants were graded on quality of pitch, compelling idea (including product/service, target BUSINESS IDEA COMPETITION
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