Stetson Students Shine at 2015 Cairns Innovation Challenge

Three groups of students were finalists in The Cairns Innovation Challenge which encourages college students to present their most unique entrepreneurial project to judges for consideration. The top prize of $10,000 plus one-year resident enrollment at the UCF Volusia County Business Incubator is awarded to the winner, and the second place winner receives $5,000 plus one-year pre-enrollment support at the UCF Volusia County Business Incubator.

Pictured holding the $10,000 check, from l to r: Dr. Tara Batista, Emma Campbell, and David Sawyer. Pictured holding he check for $5,000 (l to r): John Salis, Michael Austin, Christian Micklisch and Dr. Gary Oliphant.  Photo by Lisa Yetter.
Pictured holding the $10,000 check, from l to r: Dr. Tara Batista, Emma Campbell, and David Sawyer. Pictured holding the check for $5,000 (l to r): John Salis, Michael Austin, Christian Micklisch and Dr. Gary Oliphant. Photo by Lisa Yetter.

On April 2, the finals were held in the Volusia Room at the Daytona Beach Airport. Each participant had 20 minutes to present with five minutes for questions. Stetson students won both first and second place awards at the Cairns Innovation Challenge.

Participating schools included Stetson University, University of Central Florida, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Bethune-Cookman University, Daytona State College and Florida International University. The event is jointly sponsored by the Cairns Foundation, the Daytona Beach UCF Business Incubator and Volusia County.

Of the many proposals submitted from all schools, only six were accepted for live presentation and three were from Stetson. In addition to the six judges, more than 30 venture capitalists and investors were in the audience to hear the presentations for possible collaboration.

Stetson finalists included Christian Micklisch, John Salis and Nathan Hilliard who created Xeres, a reservation system; David Sawyer and Emma Campbell whose TSOLife is an online platform; and Michael Austin whose Austech’s Project Pre-Med is a program that gives undergraduate students the opportunity to practice general surgery, physical therapy, and other specialties with models (synthetic patients).

First place winners were David Sawyer and Emma Campbell. Their winning presentation was “TSOLife,” an online platform where you can securely and permanently document the story of your life. For a one-time fee the company securely stores and hosts your information forever. This is also an ENACTUS project and will be presented at the national conference in St. Louis, Mo., later this month.

“I would like to thank the Cairns Foundation for hosting this event which gives students a platform to present their business ventures,” said David Sawyer. “The opportunity they provide for young entrepreneurs is vital to keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive. I also need to recognize the Stetson faculty and staff who provided me with the tools and the skill set to capitalize on these opportunities. One thing I have learned from the Stetson Entrepreneurship Program is that running a start up business is not a solo sport.”

Second place winners were Christian Micklisch, John Salis and Nathan Hilliard. Their winning presentation was “Xeres” a cloud reservation system and highly flexible system that can be adapted to the needs of any business or university. Designed for ease of use, scalability and customization, the system allows users to change how and what they are reserving, and add or remove features as they see fit. This start up is currently being used by Stetson IT department for reserving equipment.

“The Innovation Challenge was one of the greatest opportunities I’ve had as a student,” said John Salis. “The variety of ideas demonstrated during the event was impressive, and having won a prize, I am left with a hunger for future success with my team’s business idea.”

Christian Micklisch concurred. “The Innovation Challenge was an event that allowed us to present not only to judges, but to investors as well,” he said. “It was an exciting event, allowing us great opportunity to grow our business through the preparation and prizes that followed.”

Also involved in assisting the groups with their start ups were Daniel Plante; Michael Branton; Tara Batista, K.C. Ma; Rebecca Oliphant; Michael King; Luis Paris; Mitzi Dykes; Don Burrhus and Gary C. Oliphant.

“This event showcased the amazing students we have at Stetson University. Three students were computer science majors, another was biology and the other two students were business majors who are also involved in ENACTUS which emphasizes Social Entrepreneurship. This is a perfect illustration of the importance of a liberal arts education and the interdisciplinary nature of the entrepreneurship program,” said Oliphant, Director of Joseph C. Prince Entrepreneurship Program.

by Mary M. McCambridge