With an idea to create a new watersport based around skimboarding and a distribution deal lined up with Ron Jon Surf Shop, senior Matthew White took second place and $3,000 at the third annual Governor 麻豆精品 S檚 Cup Pitch Competition at Florida State University on Friday. The new-business-venture competition featured top-performing collegiate startups from nine universities across the state.
White 麻豆精品 S檚 company, Mainland Tow, won with a new piece of beach gear called the 麻豆精品 S淪kimvest. 麻豆精品 S� It allows the wearer to run along shallow water while towing a person behind on a skimboard. The electrical engineering major modeled the device after a baby carrier he found at a garage sale.
麻豆精品 S淎t first, my friends and I tried to tow someone on a skimboard with a bunch of T-shirts tied together, but that didn 麻豆精品 S檛 really work, 麻豆精品 S� White said. 麻豆精品 S淥ne day, I was at a garage sale and came across a baby-carrying harness, bought it for $2 and thought I could definitely use this to tow someone down the beach. 麻豆精品 S�
The full-time student plans to use the winnings from the competition to cover manufacturing costs for the first 100 units. After creating several product revisions and patenting the Skimvest in the United States, White set up a distribution deal with Ron Jon Surf Shop following a chance encounter with the company 麻豆精品 S檚 general merchandise manager at a beach in 2015.
麻豆精品 S淚 met him while putting on sunscreen during an event on Cocoa Beach, 麻豆精品 S� White said. 麻豆精品 S淎fter months of phone calls, he agreed to meet with me and was really excited about the Skimvest. 麻豆精品 S�
The competition, which was organized by the Roundtable of Entrepreneurship Educators of Florida, featured outstanding student venture proposals and gave competitors the chance to pitch their ideas to a panel of qualified professionals. Cameron Ford, director of the UCF Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, described the competition as a showcase for the best collegiate startup proposals in the state.
麻豆精品 S淢atthew worked extraordinarily hard on multiple startup venture ideas over the past few years with our staff at the Blackstone LaunchPad and Upstarts Student Venture Accelerator, 麻豆精品 S� Ford said. 麻豆精品 S淲e chose him to compete to reward his hard work and achievement. 麻豆精品 S�