Ten teams are in the running to secure one of the top five spots for the 2020 Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science Business Plan Competition sponsored by Cadence Bank.
For this competition, juniors and seniors at MSMS team up to design a business plan that can successfully address a growing concern in Mississippi. Although each group is given a template to help guide them along the way, they ultimately determine all aspects of their business, including marketing plans, financing plans, business management plans and cost management strategies. After submitting their business plans in early November, representatives from the Mississippi State University Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach will determine the top five teams on December 6. From there, the remaining teams will have the opportunity to meet with mentors to revise their business plans as well as present their pitches at MSU’s E-Center in preparation for the final competition. During the final round, each group will present their revised business plan to a panel of judges and the entire student body for a chance to win a cash prize on February 20.
This year, 24 students are competing: Alicia Argrett, Catherine Min, Cameron Thomas, Russell Thompson, Niamke Buchanan, Michael Lu, Esmond Tsang, Niyah Troup, Amyria Kimble, Alisha Burch, Skylar Nguyen, Henry Sanders, Aaron Wan, Kelly Tran, Samaria Swims, Amelia Ferguson, Isabella Lindley, Kate Hall, Geneva Hamilton, Philnise Phillips, Matthew Dunn, Hardy Cooke, Austin Eubank and Blake Cheater.
To encourage students to develop business solutions to combat some of the issues facing Mississippi, the MSMSEntrepreneurship Program was established during the fall semester of 2015. Because of this program, students can now learn more about entrepreneurship in their economics course, attend a local entrepreneur speaker series and participate in the yearly Business Plan Competition. To learn more about the entrepreneurship program, click here.