Two UNLV student teams took third place in their divisions at the Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition, a statewide contest that encourages students to use their ingenuity to create tomorrow's businesses.
This year's contest drew 43 teams from Nevada's public and private colleges and universities, with seven of the 12 finalists from UNLV. The winners were announced April 17 in Reno.
GovernSocial.com took third place in the graduate division, receiving $10,000 for its personalized, online social network that connects citizens with local and national elected officials. The company's goal is to reinvent citizen participation in government. Jason Alt, a UNLV management information systems major, and Lukas Johnson are co-founders. The team was advised by Gregory Moody, assistant professor of management, entrepreneurship and technology in the UNLV Lee Business School.
"GovernSocial.com is a real-world business that has unlimited potential," said Andrew Hardin, director of the UNLV Center for Entrepreneurship in the Lee Business School."This team is a fine example of the work our students have done this year developing plans for viable businesses."
Earlier this month, GovernSocial.com was a finalist in the 2014 Dominic Anthony Marrocco Southern Nevada Business Plan Competition.
In the undergraduate division, DYNAMEND Corp. received third place and $10,000 to expand its business concept. DYNAMEND's product line, Motion Genius, consists of four wearable technologies that are designed to track bodily motion during outpatient rehabilitation. These devices and the accompanying software are essential in connecting physical therapists and patients via the company's website, motiongeniusconnect.com. Through an uplink to their physical therapists, patients can ask questions, receive feedback, and provide data necessary for their rehabilitation. Team members are: Daniel Dinev, a UNLV accounting major; Gregory Wingert, a UNLV marketing major, and Vlad Zhitny, a UNLV biology major. The team was advised by Janet Runge, enrichment coordinator in the Lee Business School.
"The DYNAMEND team worked so hard to prepare for the competition. It is great to see it pay off for them," Runge said. "The team identified a great opportunity and built a solid plan to capture it. I want to see them move forward with it."
The Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup is the only statewide collegiate business plan competition that gives students from Nevada's colleges and universities real-world experience in developing business plans and access to successful business owners and investors. For a complete list of winners, visit the Governor's Cup website.
