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2011 Seattle Pacific University

SOCIAL VENTURE PLAN COMPETITION

Engineering Projects Take Top Prizes at Fifth Annual SVPC Showcase

In a close contest, Pterofin narrowly edged out the competition to become the Grand Prize winner in the Fifth Annual Seattle Pacific University Social Venture Plan Competition Showcase held on the SPU campus Wednesday, April 13. The business plan was chosen as the $2500 Grand Prize winner by the combined votes of 75 judges representing the business, non-profit, academic and professional community. Spektrum came in second, winning the $1500 Pioneer Award. Over 500 students, staff and guests voted for their favorite project of the afternoon and the People’s Choice award of $500 was given to Nourish.

As stated in the team's Executive Summary: “The patent-pending Pterofin offers a viable wind power generator for homes, commercial buildings, and government buildings.” Through the use of innovative technology and design, the team has developed a small wind turbine that is both quieter and more affordable than current solutions. It can be used for homes and commercial buildings and will generate power at lower wind speeds than traditional wind turbines in wind farms. The Pterofin team, from the University of Washington, consisted of junior Chemical Engineering major Nicholas Wang, junior Mechanical Engineering major Alan Guthrie, senior Mechanical Engineering major Jad Costandi, MBA candidates Dan Bush and Nick White and Wallace Kempkey.

Spektrum was the runner-up and winner of the Pioneer Prize presented by Pioneer Human Services. The Spektrum team was comprised of junior Electrical Engineering major Devyn Byrnes,senior Business majors Jesse Boyd and Jeremy Seo, junior Economics majorSam Fullhart and seniorElectrical Engineering andPhysics double-major Heather Garcia. Like Pterofin, the Spektrum team has also created an innovative engineering product, the Pure Pump system, which would use the power of running water (e.g. a river or stream) to move water to villages and towns while also powering a UV light system to clean the water of any contaminants. The product would be marketed to NGO’s and governments in parts of the world where less than pristine rivers or streams are often the only source of drinking water.

In addition to the top prizes, three honorable mentions of $1,000 each were awarded:

Fideos de Mutti proposed starting an artisanal pasta company that would supply people in the state of San Jose, Uruguay with fresh, homemade pasta while channeling financial support to the local children’s home of El Hogar. The pasta would be based on the recipes created by the founder of the orphanage, Ursula Dueck, known to the locals as Mother or “Mutti.” Fideos de Mutti was the work of senior Global Development Studies and Nursing major Michelle Allen, senior Global Development Studies and English major Elizabeth Dueck, senior Global Development Studies and French major Emily (George) Miller and senior Physics and Engineering and Applied Science major Daniel Martell.

Static Flow Analytics plans to “accelerate the scale-up and profitability of the algal biofuel industry by providing key analytical instruments and engineering support services needed to ensure quality and productivity in the field, facility, and laboratory.” The spectral analysis tool developed by the team would allow growers of algae for biofuels to better manage their crops with less waste. Also from the University of Washington, this team was made up of MBA candidates Casey Stratton and Charlie Berg, Chemical Engineering PhD candidates Guoqiang Ren and Valerie Lieu, Biology PhD candidate William Hardin and SPU alumnus Kevin McFarland.

SwiftCycles’s business idea involves creating a bicycle sharing program around the city of Seattle, a model successfully employed in a number of cities around the world to reduce pollution, decrease traffic congestion and encourage healthy exercise. SwiftCycles was the work of senior Global Development Studies majors Anja Thompson and Whitney Garner, senior Business major Thomas Bobson and senior Accounting major Zhichen Lei.

The $500 People’s Choice Award was given to Nourish, a project that would “encourage healthy eating habits in the Delridge neighborhood by providing quick, affordable food alternatives as well as educational programs to inform community members on how to create healthy meals at home.” The team proposed a low-cost, healthy restaurant in the Delridge neighborhood of Seattle, cross-subsidized by a crepe stand at the Alki beach ferry terminal. Nourish was the work of senior Global Development Studies majors Kira Hendricksen, Kjersti Gedde and Meggie Anderson, junior Global Development Studies major Nathan Zetterberg and junior Business major Colin Quackenbush.

This is the fifth year of SPU’s Social Venture Plan Competition. A record-breaking 34 teams presented at the Showcase event. These teams represented nearly 120 students from eight different schools including the University of Washington, Seattle University and Northwest University in Kirkland. In addition to the 75 community Judges, nearly 500 students, faculty and staff voted in the People’s Choice balloting.

A partnership with Duy Tan University (DTU) in Da Nang, Vietnam added a unique twist to this year’s event. Three teams from DTU flew to the US to compete in the Showcase. These teams were acknowledged with special certificates of commendation for their perseverance and dedication in bringing their social venture business ideas over 7000 miles and pitching to the Judge’s across a significant language barrier.

The Showcase Round was the final leg of the Social Venture Plan Competition. Earlier stages in the competition included a series of seminars on the basics of business planning, scoring of the teams’ written plans and coaching sessions with knowledgeable businesspeople, and other professionals about the student’s business ideas. In all, more than 160 community volunteers gave time as readers, instructors, coaches and judges.

Sponsors of the Social Venture Plan Competition are the Kathleen and Scott Cummins Foundation, the Herbert B. Jones Foundation, Pioneer Human Services and Sheila Vortman. The competition is managed by the Center for Applied Learning in the School of Business and Economics with support from the Center for Career and Calling and the Office of Student Life.