A pair of students in the University of Tampa entrepreneur program is going to a national "Shark Tank" style competition for business students.
Their nutritional supplement company, Rush Power, makes pre-workout gummies.
Co-founders Morgan Bierbrunner and Isabella Diilio are members of the Spartan Accelerator and Incubator Program at UT.
They came up with the idea while working out at the gym. They wanted an easier way to take pre-workout supplements that didn’t involve powder or pre-made drinks — but they couldn’t find any alternatives.
“We thought, what better way to consume pre-workout than turn them into a gummy form,” said Diilio. “This would just make it more convenient and a little healthier to take.”
Instead of taking a scoop of a pre-workout powder, Diilio thought it would be more beneficial to have “different serving sizes so you can tailor it to your own body and you can get your own experience out of it.”
Bierbrunner is an entrepreneurship senior; Diilio is an advertising and public relations senior. They're both scheduled to graduate in May, and they hope to bring the gummies to market.
But first, they will be competing against 25 other startups in the three-day Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge, which is part of e-Fest. The competition is named for Richard M. 'Dick' Schulze, founder of Best Buy.
First, they will have to present a 90-second elevator pitch business plan.
On the second day of the competition, the participants will be placed on new teams of four to five students each and receive a challenge that they'll have three hours to answer. The top three teams with the best answers will receive cash prizes.
On the last day, Bierbrunner and Diilio will have to make a longer presentation about their company to a panel of judges and answer questions. Five teams will be selected for the final round, and make one last presentation to judges.
All participating startups will receive cash prizes, with the first prize being $50,000 in cash. Overall, there will be $215,000 in awards handed out.
“If we do win anything from the competition, we want to put all of that energy into pre-orders, the marketing of our pre-orders and then hopefully we want to launch fully in August or September,” said Diilio.
The two hope to build more experience as a team and company during the competition. Even if they don’t win, Bierbrunner and Diilio said they will have the opportunity to present their ideas to multiple investors, which might open doors in the future.
The competition will be held Thursday through Saturday in Minneapolis, MN.
