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On Friday, March 16, five finalist teams including Howard University, Xavier University and Florida A&M University convened at the 2nd Ford HBCU Business Classic in Washington, D.C. to present their business plans during the annual conference for the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO).
Four Howard freshmen came in third place, leaving with a $20,000 package, including $15,000 in personal scholarship funds and $5,000 for the University.
Xavier University placed first, winning $50,000. Florida A&M University placed second, winning $30,000 in scholarship monies.
In addition to the three schools that placed, Morehouse and Spelman Colleges presented their business plan in a collaborative effort during the final round.
Howard's team was made up of television production major Kirstan Crawley, political science major Alibia Henry, undecided major Jacqulyne Bell and psychology major Shavon Comfort, all of whom entered the competition as a means to help fund their college education.
The competition was designed to offer students the opportunity to use what they learned in the classroom to gain real-life entrepreneurial experience.
During the first round, teams had to submit 10-page business plans to be judged by a panel from SCORE (Counselors to America's Small Business). The panel received submissions from 80 percent of the nation's HBCUs.
The Howard team named their business B.E.N.A.B. Inc, which stands for Because Everybody Needs A Book. In essence, the business would rent books to students at affordable prices.
The five finalists were judged by a group of successful black entrepreneurs who focused on the viability of business plans, the potential of the plans to benefit the community and overall presentation.
Howard's team had been working on their business plan before they knew about the competition and are responsible for its entire construction.
Crawley said all of the team's expenses while staying in the Grand Hyatt Washington during the competition were paid. "The experience to all of us was great," she said.
She added, "We wish we would have won first, but we were happy with third."
Howard's team was the only one that consisted of all freshmen. "We beat out some MBA students from Morehouse and Spelman," Crawley said.
Crawley said that her team was happy to win money for Howard and that the group intends to divide their winnings evenly.
"We can't start our business if we're not going to be here next year, so it's all going towards tuition," she said.
