Cooperative Extension Service Communications and Technology Department 3354 1000 E. University Ave. Laramie, WY 82071 (307) 766-2540 • fax (307) 766-3998 • ces.uwyo.edu

 

For Immediate Release

 

Contact: Robert Waggener, Editor

Phone: (307) 766-3571

E-mail: robertw@uwyo.edu

 

Date: Feb. 26, 2007

 

Ag student wins $6,000 in UW $10K competition

            College of Agriculture senior Heather Grimm and her business partner, who are planning a horse tack business, placed second and won $6,000 in the University of Wyoming’s $10K Entrepreneurship Competition ($10K).

            Judging was Feb. 23 in the UW College of Business.

            Grimm and Sean Cannady, both of Dumont, Colo., formed a business called H.S.S. Mecates, which produces mecates, a type of horse rein. They hope to expand their business to offer a complete line of horse tack.

            “We look forward to using the prize money to help start our own small business,” says Grimm, a student in animal and veterinary sciences. Cannady runs a construction company in Dumont.

            “The judges felt Heather and Sean were able to establish that H.S.S. Mecates will occupy a unique niche in the market,” said Rachel Stevens, coordinator of the $10K competition.

            Stevens said the two entrepreneurs use llama fibers to make their mecates instead of the more traditional horse hair. They were able to show that llama hair is superior to horse hair in some ways.

            “For one thing, the llama hair feels better in the hands of the rider,” Stevens said.

            She added, “Heather and Sean also showed they have a core group of customers who are already interested in their products and are willing to pay the amount the two plan to charge.”

            Grimm and Cannady won $5,000 for placing second and an additional $1,000 for having the best presentation during final judging.

            Twenty-two student teams entered the competition. H.S.S. Mecates and the other nine semifinalists were previously awarded $200 for their business plans.

            Six finalists competed in the final round of judging.

            Fire Wise Forest Management, a service company that provides wildfire hazard mitigation to homeowners, placed first. Along with the $10,000 top prize, the company will receive an additional $2,500 if its progress report is approved. It also earned a one-year, rent-free stay in the Wyoming Technology Business Center (WTBC) to help get its business started.

            Team leader is Jeff Smith, management information systems senior from Evanston.

            Third place went to Chip ’n Dip, a company planning to create a snack bar that allows customers to select their favorite chip and dip combination for a quick, fresh snack, Stevens said. It won $2,500 for placing third and an additional $1,000 for having the most creative plan.

            The $10K is open to all UW students. Teams submit a business plan for a new venture that shows business potential, and a team of judges reviews and comments on all entries.

            The UW College of Business, WTBC, Woodson Family Foundation, Carl and Marcia Lee and First Interstate Bancsystem Foundation sponsor the competition. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uwyo.edu/10k, e-mail uw10k@uwyo.edu, or call Stevens at (307) 766-3124.

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