And then there were four!
Sixteen teams participated in the semi-finals of the 9th Annual Joust Business Plan Competition, but just four of them were selected to compete in the final round in April.
The competition, hosted by the UCF Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI), located in the College of Business Administration, is UCF’s premier celebration of students’ entrepreneurial aspirations, creativity and achievements. The event has grown each year, and has become more competitive.
“Approximately 500 students have been energized and enriched by this event over the years and they have enriched us as well,” said Cameron Ford, director of the CEI.
The final four teams will compete for $25,000 in awards, and include:
ALTR LLC, led by Alexandra Gramatikas, is dedicated to providing easy and affordable alternatives to existing everyday apparel. The company has created a way to “ALTR” your existing blazer, polo, cardigan, or anything else with buttons, by adorning it with an innovative button cover which can transform a plain blazer into a trendy UCF sporting jacket.
Greek Guide, led by Michael Irene, is a mobile application implementing cognitive learning techniques that uses push notification technology. The app enables new fraternity and sorority members to learn the entire history of a fraternity or sorority with ease.
PHIDIAS3D, led by Malic Dekkar, is an emerging construction intelligence company that specializes in providing engineering-grade, millimeter-accurate 3D data of any existing building structure. By leveraging their expertise in algorithm design, they effectively increase construction fidelity and efficiency and cost of ownership while providing permanent accurate 3D records— considerably lowering risk and costs.
PlatForm, led by Tyler Salem, allows businesses to create custom electronic signable forms to be used by the business’ clients. The software can be used by front-end users on tablet computers such as the Apple iPad, Kindle Fire and Samsung Galaxy.
The Joust is sponsored by Steven Felkowitz, ’79, chief executive officer of Atico International. Incoming CBA Dean Paul Jarley served as a judge, along with N. Lois Adams, ’85; Debbie Balaschak, ’88; Jim Balaschak, ’86; Jeff Borysiewicz, ’95; Mark Brewer; Howard Brunet, ’75; Les Eiserman, ’81; Andy Fore, ’76; George Gramatikas, ’04; Rob Hearn, ’00; Keith Ingersoll, ’01; Bill Kehoe, ’91; Mitch Less, ’86; Joe Losch, and Rick Parks, ’76.
The finals will be held on April 6 at 2 p.m. in the FAIRWINDS Alumni Center. Visit the CEI website for more information on the Joust.