Great Ideas, An Opportunity of A Lifetime

This past week, I had the opportunity to help the Willes Center for International Entrepreneurship host the Ryan and Shauna Ockey Great Ideas Competition at BYU–Hawaii. This event took months of preparation on our part and for each of the amazing competition participants. I am honored to have had the chance to rub shoulders with so many incredible individuals from around the world.

The Ryan and Shauna Ockey Great Ideas Competition is a business plan competition where participants submit a slide deck, present their business ideas in a booth showcase during the semifinals, and again in front of a panel of judges for the finals.

Leading up to this week, there have been weekly workshops where participants heard from experts in the field and had the opportunity to ask questions about their business ideas. On Wednesday, November 13th, all the teams that made it to the semifinals set up a booth to showcase their business ideas. Our guest judges—including Norma-Jean Livai, Ryan Tanaka, Brandon Sookhoo, Jared Morrison, and Andrew Clark—took the time to hear their business ideas and selected ten finalists from the forty teams.?

On Thursday, November 14th, those ten finalist teams presented in front of our five guest judges to secure their place as the top four. Seeing their love for their home countries and the creativity demonstrated in their business plans was incredible. The plans ranged from the tourism industry to healthy foods to innovative technology.

These experiences taught me the value of working with a team to plan and execute an event. Over the last few months, I’ve been working with the Great Ideas Team to spread awareness about the competition, host workshops, and collaborate with our judges.

Looking ahead, I am excited to see how the participants utilize this competition as a springboard for their business ideas. Their ideas have so much potential!

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