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COMPETITION DISCOVERS BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS Posted: 23 December 2009; Category: Campus

From an environmentally-friendly car cooling system, a waste collection service, and a sewage treatment plant, to stress management services and an exclusively female health, beauty and leisure club, the students of Taylor’s University College not only demonstrated creativity and business acumen in their ideas, but also an awareness and concern for current issues at the 5^th annual Business Plan Competition.

The Associates beat four other teams to clinch the grand prize with its proposal to set up an exclusively woman’s-only health, beauty and leisure club called ‘Glamazon Club’. The business model provided a unique idea that demonstrated tremendous potential to succeed, especially in a predominantly Muslim country such as Malaysia. As a result, the group, which comprised of students from the South Australian Matriculation (SAM) programme, took home a cash prize of RM3,000.

“Apart from providing an exclusive and private environment for women, Glamazon Club also provides the convenience of acquiring health, beauty and leisure services under one roof. For example, you can make an appointment with your personal trainer and after your work-out, proceed for a manicure or an appointment with our hairstylist,” explained Choy Siew Fong, 19, from The Associates.

When asked how they came up with this unique idea, fellow team member, Chan Jing Hui, 19 piped in, “It was through brainstorming and extensive research on the internet. We found that this service was lacking in Malaysia, although they did exist in some other countries such as US and Saudi Arabia. However, our idea is also slightly different because we have combined elements from various businesses under one roof in order to provide more integrated services for our customers.”

The finalists were judged by an illustrious and experienced panel of industry experts, including representatives from CB Consultancy, Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), as well as internal judges from Taylor’s University College. The presentations were judged on key areas such as the overall business plan, target market segment, potential competitors, proposed implementation plans and originality.

The unique and revolutionary ideas presented this year impressed the judges as they demonstrated tremendous ability to materialise into successful business ventures, while tackling pressing social and environmental concerns. The top three winners wowed the judges with their unique ideas, confident presentation skills and ability to handle the judges’ questions with a cool head.

Second place was clinched by TRIO from Taylor’s Business School, with their proposal of a service that restores sewage materials to clean water. While third prize went to students from the American Degree Transfer Program, team LOL’s, with the idea of an environmentally-friendly car cooling system. They walked away with RM2,000 and RM1,000 in cash prizes respectively, while the remaining two teams were awarded a consolation prize of RM500. The prizes were proudly sponsored by the main sponsor, Fuji Xerox, and co-sponsor, CIMA Malaysia.

“Year on year, the quality of the business plans and oral presentations of the finalists have definitely improved, and this year we saw some of the best ideas and presentations to date. This certainly raises the bar of the competition each year,” commented Judge Coordinator, Ms. Hiap Tusey Mei, who is also a senior lecturer in the Taylor’s-University of South Australia business programme.

“I consider myself fortunate to be invited as one of the external judges of this competition. It gave me an opportunity to connect with the future leaders of this country and see how they are progressing. I must say I was very impressed with not only the quality of their written work but also their presentation skills. I am a strong advocate of the practical aspects of education. By encouraging students to be involved in this Business Plan Competition, students gain experience in real life scenarios, develop interpersonal skills, and learn to approach people of authority – in short, preparing themselves for the working world,” said Mr. Jeremy Nasrulhaq, CIMA Divisional Vice President.

The Business Plan Competition is open to all students of Taylor’s University College, and provides an open platform for students to nurture their entrepreneurship skills and gain an integrated learning experience. An annual event, the Competition serves as an avenue for students to apply their knowledge, theories and creativity to produce innovative and practical business ideas with a unique selling point.

Said Mr Pradeep Nair, Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Taylor’s University College, “The fundamental aim of Taylor’s annual Business Plan Competition is to instill the entrepreneurial spirit among our students, equipping them with the ability to translate great ideas into success stories. The students are given a platform to apply problem-solving skills, communication skills, inter- and intrapersonal skills, and cosmopolitan thinking in the process. These qualities are part of the Taylor’s Graduate Capabilities which we focus on developing in students through lectures and extra-curricular activities.”

Participants are required to simulate an actual business environment, where they are required to document and present their plans to a panel of judges at each stage. In the initial stages of the competition, participants were encouraged to attend workshop sessions to brush up on their presentation and communication skills, and acquire tips on writing an engaging business plan proposal. Out of the 36 teams that submitted their proposals in the preliminary round, only the best five were selected to compete in the Finals. The participants comprised of students from Taylor’s Business School, American Degree Transfer Program, School of Communication, School of Hospitality and Tourism and Taylor’s Pre-U.

Previous winners from Taylor’s have gone on to represent the country in the HSBC Young Entrepreneur’s Awards, and garnered the top prize in the national level competition two years in a row.

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