Sweet victory for FEU entrepreneurs at Harvard U



IT may sound sweet, but the jury found it "cool."


A business plan, prepared by a team from the Far Eastern University (FEU), won the "Coolest Idea’’ award at the recent 22nd Annual Entrepreneurship Conference and Battle of the Business Plans at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts.

Coco sugar, a coconut juice-based healthy sugar, was packaged for business by FEU’s Institute of Accounts, Business and Finance (IABF) Dean Danny Cabulay and management students, Giancarlo Capco, Katchela Macapulay, and Jean Paula Dula.

"It seeks to address the problem of obesity and other ailments or disorders associated with being overweight, regarded as a modern worldwide epidemic," Capco explained. "Over three million people in the Philippines depend on the coconut industry. Thus, this seeks to revive greater interest in an industry where the Philippines is a major global player."

Among 50 semifinalists from top universities in the US and around the world, FEU’s coco sugar was highly favored by judges because of its comprehensive and high-impact presentation, excellent responses during the questions and answers session, and innovative product concept. The judges were from venture capitalists General Catalyst Partners and IDG Ventures, law firm Foley and Lardner, and Microsoft’s MSN Spaces.

Coco sugar also placed second in three of the categories - People’s Choice, Biggest Market Opportunity, and Most Likely to Succeed.

Aside from FEU’s Coco Sugar, entries from Harvard Business School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Yale, Wharton, a Chinese university also made it to the finals. These were:

* Biggest Market Opportunity Award - Avanti Metals (trading new metals for military clientele)

* Strongest Team Award - Cheese for Change (exotic cheese from yak milk produced by Tibetan nomads represented by MBA students and diplomats from China)

* Most Likely to Succeed Award - Virtual Property Manager (online property management system)

* MSN Best Spaces Design Award - Prize4Life (foundation to launch competition for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis [ALS] research)

* People’s Choice - Prize4Life and Cheese for Change (a tie-vote given by the audience at Spangler Auditorium).

This is the second year that a Philippine team has won in this tilt. Last year, FEU’s entry called BoardTech bagged the "Most Likely to Have a Global Impact Award" and the "People’s Choice Award." BoardTech proposed the use of construction panel boards made from recycled scrap metals.

IABF’s Level 3 accreditation allows Cabulay and FEU to design a curriculum to flex his and the students’ creative muscles and out-of-the-box way of thinking which have brought them two Harvard wins to date.

"Exposing our students to this kind of prestigious event helps them acquire a stronger sense of identity and project themselves more confidently into the future," commented FEU board trustee Gianna Montinola, "We will always encourage our students and faculty to join these competitions both locally and internationally."

Led by the Entrepreneurship Club of Harvard this year, the Entrepreneurial Idol Competition is an annual project of the Harvard Business School.

Three other Philippines entries made it to the semifinals. These were Sanitary Aqua Vendo which advocates prevention of urinary tract infection among women through a watervending machine for public toilets; Ethereal (paper coffins); and Gilead (activated carbon-based stomach remedy).

Congratulations to FEU!