Two teams win the 11th annual Baker Business Bowl, a first for the event

In the first 10 years of the Baker Business Bowl, only one team has come out on top as the winner and went home with the grand prize to start their business. But this year is a first for the event, with two teams tying for 1st place. Each team was awarded $7,500.

Team En Garde is one of the winners of this year’s Baker Business Bowl. Its members were Cadets Sophia Woody and Daniel Melnikov. Their business plan was about creating modern fencing protection for women. The product itself is a chest protector designed for women to wear while fencing. The chest protector that this team designed has comfort and women’s anatomy in mind, with options for children and even men to wear so everyone can fence to their full potential.

“Winning the Baker Business Bowl is a significant first step for our project: En Garde+. We are incredibly grateful for this opportunity and for Shawn Swartwood for pushing us out of our comfort zone. We intend on allocating the reward money toward finally patenting our idea and beginning the research and development stage of the product,” said Woody. “The current product on the market is shaped like a Barbie doll and made of plastic; it’s uncomfortable, unrealistic and archaic! All female fencers, ages five to 95, must wear the same product.”

The second winner of the Baker Business Bowl was ZenArc Technologies, a one-person team led by active-duty MECEP, or Marine Enlisted Commissioning Education Program, student Matthew Kinsman. ZenArc Technologies aims to provide diesel-electric retrofit kits to transform decommissioned military vehicles into fuel-efficient, mobile power units, ready for re-commissioning and redeployment. Their solution will reduce fuel dependency, improve vehicle reliability, ease logistical strain and enhance mission effectiveness while lowering overall costs.

“This win means a great deal to me and my family. It’s a huge step forward in turning ZenArc Technologies from an ambitious idea into a functioning venture. The resources and validation from this competition give us the momentum we need to move into early prototyping and outreach, especially for our first product line: solar light towers and diesel-electric retrofit kits. I’m excited for the road ahead and deeply grateful to The Citadel community for backing this journey,” said Kinsman.

In the first round of the BBB, teams submitted an application that consisted of a team name and for explaining the business idea. Round two consisted of the remaining teams presenting an elevator pitch to a team of judges, who then determined which teams moved on to the final round. This final round included five teams giving a full business plan – including marketing, pricing, production strategies and other relevant business details – through a professional presentation. Cadets, undergraduate students and graduate students can participate in the Baker Business Bowl.

The other finalists for the BBB were Team AutoBrush, Team Beowulf Biotech and Team Wind Energy Solutions.

This year’s panel of judges included:

Irv Condon
Joe Conti
Stephen Evans
Charlie O’Brien
Debbie Pettipan
Debra Steward
Rene Studer

This event is made possible through the generous donations of The Citadel Class of 1989, Jeff Cobb, William Hancock, CPA, and Dan D. Nale, PE, ’82. Click here to learn more about this program and the Tommy and Victoria Baker School of Business.