Brayden Luce, a Governor Mifflin School District high school senior, and Michelle Conway, who accepted the third place trophy in the high school business plan category for their work with the entrepreneurial venture BR Vending.
“I learned about grit, the importance of feedback, and how to pivot,” Somori says. “All the hard work paid off. For me, it was so encouraging to get past the idea stage and to have the industry experts who judged the competition agree with us.”
Somoli worked with Jack Short, an MBA candidate and graduate assistant in Startup Ventures and Investments at the O'Pake Institute, throughout the competitive process for his company Emivero. Evimero is a startup technology company aimed at helping universities, students, and all users retain and engage. Time management and student engagement apps work to retain current students and recruit non-traditional students.
Participants will be responsible for creating and presenting deliverables in four areas on April 18, including an executive summary, competitive analysis, pro forma financials, and presentation deck. A panel of industry experts will then evaluate the presentations in advance of the awards ceremony on May 2 at his FM Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
“Being a finalist in the TecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition provided us with a lot of experiential learning,” says Short. “I had the great opportunity to develop a financial model for a start-up, present it in front of a group of talented judges, and introduce his Evimero to the world, which TecBRIDGE provided me with.”
Short serves as Ebimelo's chief financial officer. In his role, he prepares financial projections, cash flow statements and profit and loss statements, manages budgeting and, together with Somoli, oversees many of the company's day-to-day operations.
“Preparing to participate in the TecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition is a rigorous process, but Tobi and Jack embraced the challenge,” said Michelle Conway MBA, Executive Director of Student and Client Services at the O'Pake Institute. “They diligently created comprehensive business plans, pitch decks, financial projections, and competitive analyzes. Balancing their work lives and spending countless hours perfecting Evimero's wireframes, Tobi and Jack truly embody the entrepreneurial spirit and commitment to being 'in the game'. .”
