STARKVILLE — When Mississippi State junior Susannah Case and senior Grayson Henry started making custom gameday buttons for football season, they had no idea their idea would turn into a business opportunity.
Case and Henry started selling buttons to alumni, Greek life organizations and other campus groups. After realizing the pool of potential customers was bigger than they thought, the two expanded to also offer more party supplies, maintaining their philosophy of making each item personal to the customer.
“The idea behind this is that people love being a part of something,” Case told The Dispatch. “It took off, and from there we grew.”
Case and Henry pitched their idea for a brick-and-mortar business called Happy Platter at the annual Startup Summit on Monday hosted by the MSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Outreach (CEO). They won first place, receiving a $2,500 check to use for furthering their business idea.
The summit gives students and alumni the opportunity to pitch their business idea to a panel of judges. The CEO awards $40,000 to the winners of different categories over the span of five days.
The summit started in 2008 as a way to foster student entrepreneurship. Last year, the competition had a record 50 teams, bringing in 78 competitors, according to Mississippi State University’s website. Ideas being pitched are judged on several criteria, including technology, management, financials and market potential.
For Henry, pitching Happy Platter during the summit was an opportunity to step outside of her microbiology major and further her own business venture.
“Being in a major that does not focus much on running a business or working on the business side of things, I found this to be an extremely beneficial event,” she said. “Being around people who were also passionate about their small business was inspiring.”
Students participating in the summit have six categories to compete in ranging from Big Idea, which seeks to address global issues, to the Best Brand, which includes pitches for the next popular online brand. At the end of the competition, student winners have the chance to judge a category exclusively for alumni pitching their business ideas.
For the Brick and Mortar division, Case and Henry prepared a five-minute pitch that included a marketing plan, competitive advantage and financial details. The partners also brought in examples of buttons and stickers to give the judges a good idea of their product.
Case said winning their division will give her and Henry the opportunity to expand their business beyond MSU and Starkville.
“We really want to grow our audience and expand further,” Case said. “We have also been brainstorming new products to offer for party planners like personalized frosted cups and hats, and thanks to the prize money, we can.”
After graduating, Henry will move to Memphis for optometry school, where she hopes to widen their customer base.
“I’m hoping I can help us grow a larger audience,” she said. “We enjoy providing an in-person shopping experience through pop-ups and hope to continue with that in the future.”
The Startup Summit will continue through the week with a different division competition each afternoon in the Leo Seal Atrium of McCool Hall.
On Friday, the competition culminates with the new expansion of the CEO’s E-Center. The center, designed to assist students, faculty and community members in launching their business ventures, is increasing space to more than 4,000 square feet.
Dedication of the E-Center Expansion will start at 1 p.m. Friday followed by a ribbon cutting, tours and a keynote speech from Barefoot Wine founders Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey.
Afterward, the winners of the five student divisions from the summit will compete in the grand finale competition, pitching their ideas to receive up to $7,000 for their business.
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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