Competitions
The Ron Rubin School for the Entrepreneur hosts several competitions each year.
The Miclot Competition
Thanks to an endowment by Andy and Sharlene Miclot of Austin, Texas, The Ron Rubin School for the Entrepreneur’s Miclot Family Business Plan Competition provides Culver students with a realistic competition requiring teamwork, collaboration, and field research, under the guidance of a mentor entrepreneur.
The Miclot Family Business Plan Competition is actually an opportunity assessment plan competition, and the term “business plan” is used for the sake of brevity. This competition includes a description of the product, service, or venture and its market need. Competitive products, services, and ventures are assessed, analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor. The plan includes the unique selling propositions of the product or service, along with future growth and characteristics of the market.
Any Culver Academies student is eligible to compete in the Miclot Family Business Plan competition. Wondering how to compete? Information on next year's competition will be available in Fall 2022.
2022 Winners
- 1st Place ($5,000): Sean Coxhead ’24 (Palmetto Bay, FL) – National Property Consolidation Network – a business plan that removes the bank out of home mortgages and allows for smaller share investment opportunities. Mentor: Steve Medwin
- 2nd Place ($1,000): Liam Shi ’22 (West Lafayette, IN); Marc Palicki ’22 (Glen Ellyn, IL); Aydin Turgut ’22 (South Bend, IN) – Societas – a charity platform that gamifies giving and participation by combining social media and competition. Mentor: Jack Elwood
- 3rd Place ($500): Lena Spiller ’23 (Louisville, KY) and Monique Tamon ’23 (Novi, MI) – ZenTap – a shower system designed to both reduce usage and maintain relaxing, customizable options. Mentor: Dana Brown ’14 and former Miclot Finalist
Past Winners
2021: No competition due to COVID-19 campus restrictions.
2020: No competition due to COVID-19 early dismissal.
2019: Slide – Luis Franco, Beau Barich, and Xinrui Shi – A case with three interchangeable batteries for cell phones building of an old idea when cell phones first became pocket-sized. The new design reduces the size of the batteries and case, making them more convenient and accessible.
2018: STEM Shot – Harrison Steck and Corbin Steck – A smartphone application that would let students and teachers use their devices to complete assignments and spur discussions about the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
2017: Pulse – Nicolas Walker & Ryan Gies – A mobile application that can be the “heartbeat” of a campus. It can be used to highlight everything from major events to micro-level happenings. It lends transparency to what is actually happening at a school, all based on user preferences.
2016: Channel Abroad – Charles Zhang – A platform where those interested in studying abroad could access first-hand information and meet like-minded people.
2015: VisSig – Rayford Dexter El II, Sam Concannon, and Josh Thompkins – A visual identification electronic system to protect credit card integrity
2014: Studebiker – Brennan Hussey & Santiago Aguirre – A campus-wide bicycle rental company.
2013: C4 – Adam Stathakis & Hayes Barnes – A website for ambitious people to share goals and keep track of progress that they make.
2012: VidBid – Harris Allen & Baily Roubos – An online auction site with video.
2011: spAIR – Sky Strycker & Madeleine Loney – Tiny suitcases with toiletries and clean clothes for stranded travelers or travelers whose luggage is lost.
2022 Judges
Nick Chaney is the Executive Vice President at U.S. Granules Corporation located in Plymouth, IN. U.S. Granules engages in the processing of industrially generated laminated aluminum foil scrap and the subsequent manufacture of secondary aluminum granules.
Kamilah Triplett is the Controller at Culver Academies. Kami oversees and manages accounting-related activities, including high-level accounting, managerial accounting, and finance activities, with Culver Academies. She is an entrepreneur who ran Next Level Softball for eleven years.
Hayes Barnes, CMA ’14 is a Sr. Market Research Associate at Eli Lilly and Company providing strategic insights in support of upcoming Oncology assets in Lilly’s pipeline. Previously, Hayes led the strategy, development, and measurement of omnichannel marketing for current Lilly Oncology products.
The Elevator Competition
Culver entrepreneurs compete individually in the annual Elevator Competition, a contest that requires a "big idea" and a smooth sales talk in less than three minutes, the length of an average elevator ride. Contestants make their pitch while standing before two professional entrepreneurs who act as judges.
2022 Winners
Two business concepts that would reduce waste in the food industry were selected as the winners of The Ron Rubin School for the Entrepreneur’s Elevator Competition at Culver Academies:
- Isabel Bernard ’23 (San Pedro Sula, Honduras) won the environmental/sustainability and people’s choice awards for her concept for edible silverware.
- Christian Tolksdorf ’23 (Skokie, Illinois) and Victor Zhang ’23 (Quingdao, China) won the general category with their concept on reducing food waste in the Lay Dining Hall.
2022 Judges
- Ellen Joyce – A graduate of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and the ESTEEM program at the University of Notre Dame, Joyce is the co-founder and CEO of Digital Leader Academy, which brings Silicon Valley into the classroom by creating curriculums that educate students on emerging technology and the entrepreneurial process. Her goal is to increase the visibility of technology to women and under-represented students.
- Rian McDonnell – A graduate of Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland and the ESTEEM program at the University of Notre Dame, McDonnell is the Founder and CEO of Flowaste, a food analytics platform that uses proprietary image recognition technology to food service providers to optimize meal preparations and portion sizing, while reducing labor costs to maximize profits and minimize excess.
Investment Simulator
The Investment Group
Currently, The Ron Rubin School for the Entrepreneur is hosting an Investment Simulation where over thirty students registered. The Investment Group meets bi-weekly led by a group of students with a focus in discussing investing fundamentals, market concepts, and trends, and the sessions end with the traditional "gains and losses" predictions.