Tie for first in Acadia Wes Nicol competition

Andrew McLeod and Linda Goslin tied for first place in the Acadia Wes Nicol Business Plan competition with ideas that were as different as night and day.

McLeod presented a plan for Amen Boutique - a high end surf and snowboard clothing shop destined for Dresden Row. Goslin pitched MemaScene - a digital multimedia company that will work with local funeral homes to provide digital tributes to those departed for use at visitations and funerals, and as keepsakes.

“I had the opportunity to have a second kick at the can after not placing in the top last year,” said McLeod, a fourth-year Acadia business student. “The competition taught me a lot about my businesses and my abilities, and the judges’ feedback was also extremely useful.”

“I was very nervous and excited about the competition,” said second-year business student Goslin. “I am very passionate about my idea and will continue to work hard to make the business a reality. I plan on starting the business next year through the Entrepreneurial Co-op program here at Acadia.”

Goslin’s entry caught the attention of the national panel and she has been chosen as one of six finalists heading to Ottawa for the national level of competition in late March.

Hosted by the Fred C. Manning School of Business with help from the Acadia Centre for Social and Business Entrepreneurship (ACSBE), the competition is sponsored by Ottawa entrepreneur Wes Nicol. It is designed to generate interest in entrepreneurship by students and to help them develop skills that will assist them as entrepreneurs.

“What is very pleasing about this year’s competition is the overall quality of the business plan submissions,” said organizer Dr. Conor Vibert, a professor in the Fred C. Manning School of Business. “I do not recall a year where I have read plans as compelling as those submitted to the 2009 competition. “

Second place went to a plan for Happy&Home, a home support business created to fill market need in Dover, New Hampshire and created by students Zach Woodward, Kenny Norton, and Stu Grant.

630 Degrees – a business plan focused on promoting all 15 Atlantic Canadian universities in the Mideast U.S., which took third place - was created by students Michelle Ernest, Jim Proudfoot and Marley Gibbons.

In fourth place was a plan authored by Mark DesJardine and Daniel Kavanagh called Student Cycle, which is a cycle rental company that will operate out of the University of Guelph in Ontario.

“This was the most competitive year since we brought the competition to Acadia five years ago,” said Lisa Lowthers, of ACSBE, “with only three points separating first and fourth place.”

Fourteen teams competed and nine reached the final presentation phase; more than any other year. Teams submitted a business outline in early January and had six weeks to write a 30-page business plan, which went through three rounds of judging before the winners were determined.

Judges consisted of past Manning school graduates, community development professionals, small business counselors, academics and entrepreneurs.