“Having a strong business plan for the Governor’s Cup meant that I had to obtain real world information, which was 100 percent applied in action when we started the business.”

Jean Bridges, CFO
TIKI ICE, Inc.

For Jean Bridges, entering NCET’s 2010 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup wasn’t just about winning a competition. It was about creating the foundation for a business concept that could immediately and successful be launched in today’s business climate.

“The process of actually having a suitable business plan for the competition is how you learn the most,” explains Bridges. “If you are doing it right, creating the business plan is a huge education on what you’ll need to have, know and obtain to launch your business. I’ve heard people say that writing a business plan is unnecessary or does no good. Anyone who says that can’t have been through the process I went through! Just writing the plan was hugely educational.”

According to Bridges, having a strong business plan meant that she had to obtain real world information, which she was able to put into real use when she launched her business, TIKI ICE, Inc., just one month after taking high honors at the competition. TIKI ICE makes frozen fruit ices that are gluten-free, dairy-free and free from artificial colors, flavors or ingredients. Products are made of organic flavor bases, real fruit and real cane sugar. The company’s first sales location is at Town Square Las Vegas.

Bridges says meeting people in the business of building new companies, like angel investors, was a great perk of the Governor’s Cup competition. She credits her instructors and teammates for the team’s success.

“My biggest driver on the business plan – from inception to the point of competing in the Governor’s Cup – was my professor, Dr. Steven Phelan. He heads the New Venture concentration of the MBA program at UNLV. He was a strong source of encouragement, and of course learning, throughout the process. I think he noticed that I was very serious about my business and my business plan, and so he met with me repeatedly about competing in the Governor’s Cup competition. I had collaborators on the plan – three students in my UNLV New Venture Creation class – Spencer Fairbairn, Hector Ibarra and Beck Roghaar. We all learned so much in the process of writing the plan about how to make my type of business ‘go’.”