North Central Kansas Student at Fort Hays State Advances to Faulkner Challenge Finals
One North Central Kansas student at Fort Hays State University is part of a five-member team that made the finals of the 2022 Faulkner Challenge following their oral presentations to a panel of six judges on Saturday, March 26th.
The finals – set for Friday, April 1st in Fort Hays State University's Hansen Hall – will be held in front of a live audience for the first time since 2019. The competition, hosted by Fort Hays State University's Center for Entrepreneurship, was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic, and last year's event was held virtually. This year's finals, which are free and open to the public, will begin at 1:30 pm. The presentations also will be available to view in virtual form.
Wyatt Cyr of Clyde and his team "Sky Sprayers" are in the top three finalists. Sky Sprayers builds and patents an autonomous lightweight drone for farmers to spray their fields. Other team members are Chance Fuhrman, John Gamez-Ramos, Tyler Preisser, and Kole West.
The Faulkner Challenge is a business plan competition designed to develop entrepreneurial imagination and innovation in university students, regardless of major or interests. It is open to any new venture in the conceptual stage, the seed stage, or the startup stage. Teams are evaluated on their ability to clearly identify market opportunity, value proposition, and sustainable competitive advantage.
The challenge includes a written business plan and a 10-minute oral presentation. A total of 13 teams of Fort Hays State students submitted entries for consideration, and a three-person committee selected eight to make oral presentations. One team withdrew before the presentations, leaving seven to vie for the finals.
The judges asked questions at the end of the seven presentations and provided feedback to the students. The three finalists are allowed to tweak their presentations before the finals.
One of the other seven presentations featured Grace Carder of Concordia and her team "Manifest Scubs." Manifest Scrubs offers the sale of a larger variety of scrubs as the need for healthcare workers continues to grow. Carder's team also featured Brett Loving, Colton Potts, Emily Schulte, and Kameron Schneider.
The challenge was the brainchild of Fort Hays State University alum Kevin Faulkner, who created an endowed fund for the business plan challenge. The $10,000 prize money is split among the top three teams each year. The first-place team will receive $6,000 in prize money, with the second-place team receiving $3,000 and third place $1,000.