CBU students pitch entrepreneur ideas at the Bob Goodrich Business Plan Competition

Riverside, Calif. (April 8, 2019) – Two students’ passion for coffee propelled them to win the third annual Bob Goodrich Business Plan Competition on April 4. Austin Keisling and Justin Porter, both entrepreneurship seniors at California Baptist University, earned $5,000 for their accomplishment.

The competition was sponsored by the Robert K. Jabs School of Business. Prizes for the competition were made possible by an anonymous donor.

The winning team proposed a coffee subscription box called Snob Box. Their idea is to package local coffee roasters’ coffee into sample bags and charge a monthly subscription for customers to taste different varieties of coffee.

Keisling said he enjoys finding new coffee flavors and wanted others to enjoy this sensation in the comfort of their homes.

Constructing the business plan was a rewarding experience, he added

“I felt like I really learned how to use critical thinking. We haven’t started the actual business yet, but I learned a lot from having a vision to seeing how the idea has evolved,” Keisling said.

Porter said that they used their experience from working at coffee shops to develop their business plan.

“Our research was conducted through our own experience. We both worked in coffee for a long time, so we already knew a lot about the coffee business,” Porter said.

Numerous business plans were submitted earlier in the semester. Students worked with a faculty advisor doing the submission process.

Once the business plans were submitted, Master of Business Administration students from CBU analyzed and measured their viability. The plans included an executive summary; the type of products and services the company would be selling; and various marketing research metrics. Each plan was ranked by an MBA professor, who ensured that all elements of a business plan were considered. 

Four finalists were selected to present a five-minute business pitch to a panel of judges consisting of Lisa Wright, CEO of United Way of the Inland Valleys; Matt Irving, technology entrepreneur and owner of SystemGo It; and Stevie Hasemeyer, co-founder of Arcade Coffee Roasters in Riverside.

“Our hope is that our feedback can add to their competitive edge and ability to sell their product, sell to more customers, and have a good financial model. We provided a lot of expertise on what we thought would enhance their product and help make them more money,” Wright said.

Team Stepping Stones, with Joshua Gilliam and Nathaniel Paul, placed second in the competition and earned $3,000. The pair worked on the concept of social entrepreneurship. They proposed to create a company based in Afghanistan that would create handcrafted sandals by locals that could be sold internationally.

Miles Ward and Nathanael Hovda created The Miles Ward Clothing Corporation and took third and $2,000 for their concept of creating a simple but stylish fashion clothing line made from high quality fabric.