Published: May 13, 2008 08:22 am            

EKU student, faculty member recognized for business plan

LOUISVILLE — An Eastern Kentucky University student and a faculty member recently were recognized in an inaugural statewide business plan contest for entrepreneurs.

Idea State U, sponsored and managed by the Department of Commercialization and Innovation within the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, is designed to help identify and support the next generation of Kentucky innovators and entrepreneurs.

Greg Compton, who graduated this past weekend with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting, was judged to have the best undergraduate student “Elevator Pitch,” a 60-second oral synopsis of his business plan.

The 32-year-old Danville native presented a business plan for Home Sweet Home, a proposed company that would help elderly individuals prolong their period of independent living through lifestyle interviews, a home inspection and a subsequent action plan.

“The Home Sweet Home concept was my wife’s idea,” Compton said. “She has eight years of experience in social services delivery and saw the need for this specialized service. She has always wanted to work on something together, so this was a great opportunity for us.”

“We hope to help individuals take a proactive approach to their retirement living arrangements,” he said during his pitch. “We believe we can help people enjoy a better quality of life during their retirement years for a longer period of time. We do not claim to help our clients avoid assisted living arrangements totally, but we believe we can extend their period of independent living, thereby avoiding those costs for a longer period of time.”

Before the Idea State U competition, Compton’s Home Sweet Home plan won the annual Entrepreneurship Collegiate Business Competition, sponsored by EKU’s College of Business and Technology, Berea College Entrepreneurship for the Public Good, the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation and The Center for Rural Development.

He won $1,000 and will be recognized at a formal luncheon on Monday, Sept. 8, at The Center for Rural Development in Somerset as part of the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards program.

Compton, along with the help of faculty advisors Bill Davig, Kristel Smith and Maurice Reid, spent months working on the business plan.

The Idea State U Competition Committee selected Davig for the second place faculty advisor award for his efforts. He received a $500 reward.

“I was very impressed with the plan, and I strongly believe it is destined to be a highly successful business because of its creativity and uniqueness, and the fact that it addresses a real consumer need that currently is not being addressed in a large and growing market in the U.S.,” said Davig, a professor of management at EKU.”

“I strongly believe there are many opportunities for building new successful enterprises in Kentucky and across the country,” he said. “At EKU, we have started an entrepreneurship program to help students in all majors learn about how they can successfully create their own business.”

Compton was among nearly 50 participants in the competition.

In all, Idea State U featured five teams of graduate students and 10 teams of undergraduates from six of Kentucky’s universities — EKU, Western Kentucky University, Morehead State University, University of Louisville, University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University.

The Kentucky General Assembly has funded the concept for the “Idea State U” competition to encourage a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship that will help sustain Kentucky’s future economy in the global marketplace.

Compton, a staff sergeant in the 123rd Civil Engineering Squadron of the Kentucky Air National Guard in Louisville, will begin in August working on his Masters of Business Administration degree at the University of Tennessee.

He plans on continuing his career as an entrepreneur and perfecting his Home Sweet Home idea.

“I received fantastic feedback from the judging panel at Idea State U and have identified a number of areas within the plan that need to be refined,” Compton said. “I intend to refine the concept during graduate school and, assuming everything works out, open a pilot office this time next year.”

“The best recognition will come in the marketplace when Home Sweet Home is shown to be a viable, profitable business,” he said.

Bryan Marshall can be reached at bmarshall@richmondregister.com or 624-6691.

        

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