March 4, 2021
Miller School takes numerous awards at '21 SBI Conference
Barhound, formerly known as VYBE, celebrates winning the 2019 Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge.
Michael Harris, Dennis Barber, III, David Mayo, and Corey Pulido of the College of Business‘ Miller School of Entrepreneurship recently attended the virtual 2021 National Small Business Institute® (SBI) Conference. During the event, Harris and Barber picked up awards for the Miller School and the College of Business’ Small Business Institute.
The awards included:
National Best Practices Award – The winning submission, Using Student Startups as a Small Business Institute Pipeline, focused on integrating student businesses as clients in the Miller School’s Small Business Institute consulting course. Through various programs and competitions in the past four years, headlined by the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge, the Miller School has worked with more than 300 student teams interested in launching a business.
“These programs have developed a pipeline of potential clients for our consulting courses,” said Harris, director, Miller School of Entrepreneurship. “We have served clients throughout eastern North Carolina since 1974, and student-led ventures have now become an important part of this initiative.”
First Place, National Project of the Year Competition – Taking first place in the undergraduate, comprehensive category was a project completed for Barhound. The student team of Steven Lipscomb, Jessica Brennan, Ethan Britt, Laettner Fulford and Michael Gormley. They created a strategic plan with recommendations focused on product development and brand awareness. Barhound, started by Lipscomb and Camden Bathras, won the 2019 Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge and had the distinction of being the first student-led business to win the Project-of-the-Year Competition. Harris served as the faculty advisor.
Second Place, National Project of the Year Competition – The submitted project was for Barnes Metalcrafters in Wilson, North Carolina. Students Summer Harris, Stevie Padgett, Constant Mangongo, Collin Krenz and Thad Carey worked to help the family business with succession planning. Recommendations were provided around CEO exit strategy, operating agreements, buy-sell agreements, and personnel planning. Barber served as the faculty advisor.
The Miller School, who served as a gold sponsor for this year’s conference, also had a strong presence during the virtual event. Pulido gave a presentation about the Miller School’s annual Summer Innovation Academy, and Mayo also gave a presentation titled, Empowering Growth through Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Rural Business.
Additionally, Harris serves as the SBI’s vice president of development, and Barber serves as the vice president of programs. Barber is also the conference chair in charge of planning for the 2022 SBI Conference, scheduled for Charleston, South Carolina.
Related articles:
Miller School hauls in more national awards
COB Students Win Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge
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