By UNIVERSITY RELATIONS
The Center for Entrepreneurship at Fort Hays State University will host the Faulkner Challenge on March 30 at the W.R. and Yvonne Robbins College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Fort Hays State students and residents of a 26-county area of Northwest Kansas are eligible to compete for $10,000 in prizes.
The event begins at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 30, in McCartney Hall, home of the Robbins College, on the Fort Hays State campus. Admission is free for participants and the public.
“It will be an exciting event on our campus to showcase the creativity and entrepreneurial spirit of our students and the Kansans of this region,” said Dr. David Snow, director of Entrepreneurship for FHSU.
“This is meant not only to be a fun event for all involved, but a contribution to economic development in Northwest Kansas and a boost for those early-stage entrepreneurs.”
The Faulkner Challenge is made possible by the generosity of alumnus, Kevin Faulkner. It is a business plan competition for new, independent proposed ventures in the conceptual, seed or startup stages.
Entries will be accepted until the March 20 deadline. The eight best business plans will be selected as finalists to present on the Fort Hays State campus. Finalists will deliver 10 minute presentations to a panel of judges and the top three business projects will split the $10,000 in prize money into awards of $6,000, $3,000, and $1,000, to first, second, and third places, respectively.
The eligibility area comprises the 26 Northwest Kansas counties stretching from Cheyenne down to Wallace County, east through the top three tiers of counties and then into the eight-county block from Jewell and Republic down through Ellsworth and Saline.
Plan presentations begin at 9 a.m. and run through 12:15 p.m. Luncheon will go from 12:15 p.m. to 12:45 p.m. The judges feedback session will run from 12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Awards presentations begin at 1:15 p.m. and end at 1:30 p.m.
For more information about the Faulkner Challenge, visit https://www.fhsu.edu/cob/faulkner-challenge.
For free tickets to watch the event, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/faulkner-challenge-tickets-55640862317?aff=ehomecard.
For more information about the FHSU Center for Entrepreneurship, visit https://www.fhsu.edu/cob/entrepreneurship.