University of Arkansas Team Wins at Tri-State Business Plan Competition

Photo courtesy Arkansas Capital Corp.

Phillip Turner, far right, and Kenny Bierman, third from right, of Kordate Solutions accept the first-place trophy at the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Collegiate Business Plan Competition. Also accepting the award is team adviser Carol Reeves (from left) and Rush Deacon, acting CEO, Arkansas Capital Corp.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Kordate Solutions Inc., representing the University of Arkansas, took home $30,000 for winning the graduate division Thursday night at the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Collegiate Business Plan Competition in Las Vegas.

Kordate Solutions is a pharmaceutical company founded last fall by U of A students enrolled in the New Venture Development graduate course in the Sam M. Walton College of Business.

The team’s business plan focuses on developing a drug to treat the cause of Alzheimer’s disease. The plan grew out of the research and intellectual property from the U of A lab run by Shannon Servoss, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the university.

“Some of the competition judges had deep medical startup knowledge and were very impressed with how well our students understood the technology, the pharmaceutical market and the regulatory environment,” said Carol Reeves, the team’s faculty adviser and associate vice provost for entrepreneurship at the U of A. “The competition this year was extremely stiff, so this was quite an accomplishment.”

Kenny Bierman and Phillip Turner competed for Kordate Solutions in Las Vegas. Both are May graduates of the university. Bierman earned a Master of Business Administration degree in Walton College, and Turner earned a doctorate in chemical engineering in the College of Engineering.

The other members of the team are:

• Vincent Audo, a May executive M.B.A. graduate in Walton College
• Rob Ekwerekwu, a May M.B.A. graduate in Walton College
• Michael O’Brien, a May master of accountancy graduate in Walton College
• Joseph Post, a May M.B.A. graduate in Walton College

Bierman and Turner will continue to develop Kordate Solutions as a start-up company, with Bierman as the interim chief executive officer and Turner as the chief scientific officer.

Kordate Solutions qualified for the Tri-State Awards by finishing second in the graduate division in Arkansas’ Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition. The team won a total of $45,000 this spring at business plan competitions.

The eighth annual Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Award Competition featured first- and second-place winners of the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup in Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma competing for a total cash prize pool of $118,000.

This is the fourth time that a team from the U of A won the graduate division at the Tri-State competition. Previous winners were MerchantEyes LLC (2008), Tears of Life (2009) and InnerVision LLC (2010).

Under the guidance of Reeves, U of A’s competitive graduate student teams have won more than $2.3 million in cash at state, regional, national and international business plan competitions since 2002.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.