NCET

NCET’s 2009 Governor’s Cup first place winner MJ’s Pizzeria in Reno opened its doors just one year after taking first place in the 2009 Governor’s Cup. President James Blood says if it wasn’t for what he learned during the competition, his business wouldn’t be up and running today.

After winning the competition, James got in touch with Ky Good, Managing Director of the C4Cube business incubator. Together, they reviewed the original business strategy and decided to focus on a take-out and delivery concept similar to Domino’s, rather than on a full-house restaurant and bar concept. This significantly reduced the amount of capital needed to open the business, for which James then turned to Nevada Microenterprise Initiative, which provided the start-up financing needed to open MJ’s. (I’m a connoisseur of pizza and MJ’s pizzas are excellent!)

The Governor’s Cup was originally started as an academic exercise to help Nevada’s college students understand everything that goes into developing a business concept from start to finish. In reality, students began to see the real-world potential for transforming ideas into realities. Given the state of Nevada’s economy, the students’ job-creation efforts could not come at a better time.

The result is that over a dozen participants have gone on to launch businesses based on the plans they wrote for the Governor’s Cup, and in many cases have done so with the help of Nevada’s business community.

This year’s Governor’s Cup has already launched a number of student teams into start-up mode, and their stories demonstrate the level of community involvement and support.

Completely Off-Grid, University of Nevada, Reno’s second-place undergraduate team, is currently developing its manufacturing company to produce pre-cut, partially assembled and uniquely designed homes that are billed as offering permanent, self-sufficient off-grid packages. Several Nevada investors have already expressed interest in the concept.

Katie Knapp’s Bumblebee Blooms, LLC, was the third-place winner in the undergraduate category with her plan for a unique retail florist concept in the Reno/Sparks market. Katie assembled an incredible team of advisors and mentors to help her develop her plan. Jolene Hayes of TMCC served as her faculty advisor. (Jolene, now a TMCC instructor, was an ideal advisor as Jolene competed in – and won — the very first Governor’s Cup in 2005 while a student at UNR.)

Bob Boisson of the Reno Sparks Chamber of Commerce mentored Katie on the overall plan, while Rod Jorgensen and Mat Neben of the Nevada Small Business Development Center (NSBDC), helped her strengthen her financial projections. Katie then enlisted the help of Bob Belknap (University of Street Smarts) and Dana Andrus (Ad Moguls & Empowerment Nevada) to help hone her oral presentation and elevator pitches.

It’s the support of the business professionals who serve as mentors and advisors that elevate the Governor’s Cup from an academic exercise to a real-world experience. We are fortunate to have business and community leaders who help students develop ideas, write plans, research markets and rehearse pitches. Many go on and continue to mentor students after the competition.

My sincere thanks to everyone who made this year’s Governor’s Cup such a success.