Lock It Plates Wins First Place in Business Plan Competition
Along with prize money, teams compete for legal and business services, space at 抖M女仆鈥檚 Tech Runway and the opportunity to present their business plan to local angel investors, venture capital groups and more. Competitors have the opportunity to meet and network with successful entrepreneurs, and resources are provided to aid students in the creation and implementation of their businesses.
Lock It Plates, a product devised as a more convenient way to transport food, won first place and $12,000 in prize money at this year鈥檚 抖M女仆 , recently hosted by 抖M女仆鈥檚 and the at the . 聽
For Jerry Desamur, a civil engineering student at 抖M女仆, and his friends Johny Delvar and Christopher Mundy, the idea for Lock It Plates was a natural outgrowth of being a part of South Florida鈥檚 Caribbean community. Desamur and Delvar are from Haiti, while Mundy鈥檚 family is from Jamaica.
鈥淏eing from the islands, we share food with family, with neighbors, and we鈥檙e always carrying food around, sharing our culture through food, that鈥檚 what we do,鈥 said Delvar, a student at Broward College who plans to transfer to 抖M女仆. 鈥淪o that鈥檚 how the solution came about, because we always struggle carrying food around everywhere we go. So this was our solution, and it became a great idea and we decided to pursue it.鈥
Their product鈥檚 development sprang from talking with their friends who face similar problems in transporting food in traditional containers.聽
鈥淲e came together and knocked heads, and we also got a group of people to see what they wanted in a food container,鈥 said Mundy, who graduated from St. Francis College in Brooklyn, N.Y., with a degree in business management and information technology. 鈥淲e thought if we鈥檙e having problems with food containers, other people have to be having problems.鈥
From there, they found a friend to help them with the design and another to help them produce a prototype. They said they have designed the first lockable, disposable, reusable and secure plastic plates that make eating on the go that much easier. With the prize money in hand, they鈥檙e now working on obtaining a patent for their product.聽
Second prize and $6,000 went to Roizo, which creates innovative strength training products that increase the performance of athletes. Roizo鈥檚 new grip apparel technology is aimed at changing the current athletic landscape, starting with the Roizo grip shirt, grip sleeves and grip socks.
Contiguity Spatial Solutions (CSS) took third place and $3,000. CSS provides customized solutions to businesses in the geospatial field by specializing in developing tools and applications using the latest technologies. CSS takes charge of understanding the needs and gaps of companies in this field and applying new technology to solve these problems.
The People鈥檚 Choice winner of a $1,000 prize was Mil谩mu, which creates handmade essential oil blends and natural skincare products using elements that hold the concentration of active ingredients to effectively fight skin deficiencies and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Sponsors of the event included Martin Greenberg (platinum sponsor), (silver ponsor) and (bronze sponsor).
Greenberg, who also served as a judge, said all of the teams were impressive, and although it was a very close competition, Lock It Plates was the clear winner.
鈥淭hey had a really good business plan and showed the judges they have an excellent chance of success,鈥 he said. 鈥淭heir enthusiasm helped them stand out. But all of the teams were very professional.鈥澛
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