Columbus State University’s Turner College of Business recently awarded three aspiring entrepreneurs with funding to launch their own businesses. The recipients were the winners of CSU’s 7th annual Business Plan Competition, which is open to both students and members of the community.
 
Out of the 31 business plans submitted to the competition this year, the judges selected Kimberly Presley as the 2018 winner and recipient of a $3,000 prize. Presley, a current CSU student, proposed a new shooting target that is safer than the traditional clay targets used by most recreational shooters. Not only is Presley’s product biodegradable, but it is also edible. The judges were impressed with the creativity and long-term profit potential of producing and selling biodegradable shooting targets.
 
Additional prizes were also awarded to the second place winner, Victor Feliciano, and third place winner, Nathan Carr. Feliciano is the founder of Vicinity Tours, a guided touring company for the Columbus area. Carr is the owner of SonicAirflow, and his product, AirJet, is a patent pending twin turbo fan that regulates the temperature in large areas like warehouses.
 
The winners of the 7th annual business plan competition were announced at a luncheon in the Schuster Center last week.  Kirk Heriot, professor of management and the Ray and Evelyn Crowley Endowed Chair of Entrepreneurship, presented the checks. The competition, which is open to both students and members of community, is hosted by CSU’s Turner College of Business.  
 
The business plan competition was created in 2012 by Dr. Kirk Heriot who holds the Crowley Chair in Entrepreneurship.  Prize winners from previous years have gone on to start new businesses based on the plans that they entered into the competition.