A student-generated idea for delivering high quality locally produced food has brought the University of Charleston its first-ever win at the 10th Annual West Virginia Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition.
Placing first in the Hospitality & Tourism category the UC team, comprised of students Ashley Clark, Donnie Ney and Christopher Veazey, created a business plan for Appalachian Aqua Farms, LLC. The company seeks to deliver high quality locally grown food directly to consumers. The students’ plan featured such alternative farming techniques as aquaculture, aquaponics and hydroponics.
While the team was only comprised of a few individuals, the project was a true team effort.
“It was eye-opening to see how much people in our classes were willing to help us,” said Ashley Clark. “We had group discussions about the name of our company and other marketing issues. We ultimately took those suggestions and they made our project even better.”
The annual business plan competition is hosted by the WVU business school and affords West Virginia college students the opportunity to bring a business idea come to life with the support of seasoned business professionals from around the country. This year the competition had 209 teams enter from 13 West Virginia higher education institutions.
Winners of the lifestyle and innovation, hospitality and tourism and STEM categories all received a prize package consisting of $10,000, access to virtual/physical incubator space, as well as accounting and legal consultation.
UC was the only school other than WVU to place this year.
“We were honored to represent the University of Charleston,” said Chris Veazey. “It was a great learning experience and all the time and effort we put in proved to be worth it.”
UC instructors Nora Myers and Sam Payne were the faculty coaches for the UC team.
