Monday saw the kickoff of the 2007 GSEA Regional Competitions with our first competition coming live from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas! The home of the Horned Frogs played host to four great student entrepreneurs competiting for prizes including one of two coveted slots at the GSEA Global Finals in Chicago, along with airfare and accommodations.
While all four undergrad entrepreneurs that presented were fantastic, the judges were challenged with choosing the top two who would advance. We had a fantastic judging panel that included Entrepreneurs’ Organization members from the EO Dallas and EO Houston chapters, as well as other local business leaders. Thanks to all of our judges for participating!
The race was close enough that out of four students - we had first, second and a tie for third! A fantastic showing from all four.
Our first place winner of a $1000 cash prize and the expenses-paid trip to compete at the GSEA Global Finals was Tim Hamilton of Astonish Designs!
Tim started his very well-tuned presentation by defining an entrepreneur in his own words. Referencing resources such as Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth, Tim did a great job of showing the judges how he has been an entrepreneur his entire life. From starting his company over a decade ago to his very busy Astonish Designs business he has now - Tim is truly one of Texas’ finest student entrepreneurs. Congrats Tim!
Second place went to the current TCU Texas Youth Entrepreneur of the Year - Jeff Livney of Livney+Partners.
Jeff’s presentation focused around the birth and growth of Livney+Partners - a small boutique marketing and branding firm. One of Jeff’s major messages was that he learned a lot through the restructuring of his company - a major lesson being “It’s ok to put off making a dollar today when you’re investing to make five or ten dollars tomorrow.”
Austin Hoffman of Coleto Collectibles and Michael McKenzie of The McKenzie Group tied for third place with their presentations. Great job!
These and all of our GSEA competitors are true entrepreneurs - managing a full school courseload, a social life (however fragmented it may be!) and on top of that, owning, leading and growing a company and in many cases, managing their own staff. Congratulations again to our four great competitors from Texas!
Next up are the GSEA Minnesota and GSEA California Regional Finals - held 23 April and 24 April 2007 respectively. Stay tuned to GSEA.org for updates!
