Grove City College student entrepreneurs captured second and third place in the Collegiate BizLaunch Week’s Marketplace Simulation Challenge.
The “Two Tired” team, consisting of Eric Dudgeon ’22, Sierra Nagy ’23, Ben Salaj ’22, and Cameron Suorsa ’22, won second place and a $750 award last month during the nationwide virtual event sponsored by the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO).
Dudgeon and Suorsa are returning CEO champions. They were both part of the Grove City College team that won first place in the simulation challenge last year.
Team “Animal Park” – Joe Gray ‘23 Jonathan O’Brien ’24, Hannah Sedam ’22, and Nathan Warrick ’22 – took third place and a $400 prize in this year’s battle.
The business simulation challenge allows students to try their hands at running a new global startup venture. In the process, they identify market opportunities, design new products, create ad campaigns, manage a sales team, schedule production, and manage cash while trying to outpace their competitors.
The GCC teams won out in a field of 17 teams that was winnowed to six finalists, who were invited to present to the Marketplace Simulation’s Board of Directors.
The College’s teams have experience with the simulation thanks to Assistant Professor Kenneth E. Smith ’84, who uses it in an entrepreneurship course called Managing a Growing Enterprise. “I love that CEO added the presentation to their Board as part of the competition. It adds the challenge of explaining your strategy, a challenge I know our students are up for,” said Smith, who also serves as the Assistant Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation (E+I) at Grove City College.
A model for programs nationwide, the Entrepreneurship Program at Grove City College consists of two distinct parts. The Entrepreneurship Department (ENTR) covers the academic side of the program while E+I provides programs, events and competitions for students of all majors on campus. For more, visit gccentrepreneurship.com.