Campus News

Westminster Awards $10,000 in the Opportunity Quest Business Plan Competition

Inside & Out Cosmetics wins first place and takes home $5,000

SALT LAKE CITY – Westminster College’s Institute for New Enterprise is pleased to announce Inside & Out Cosmetics as the first place winner of the 2011-2012 Opportunity Quest business plan competition for their USDA-certified organic make-up line that is also tied to a social cause. With each sale, Inside & Out Cosmetics will contribute a portion of the profit to women’s causes. Caitlin Jolley, a Westminster MBA student, and her team received the honor during the fifth annual awards banquet on January 27, where she also received an award check of $5,000.

"Inside & Out Cosmetics provides women with a brand that is both green and glamorous,” said Jolley. “We are excited to have won the Opportunity Quest at Westminster and plan on using our winnings to launch our business. Start-up companies face a lot of challenges, but Opportunity Quest has provided us with the mentors, feedback and support we needed to improve and execute our plan.”

This year’s competition included a new category of Social Entrepreneurship. Inside & Out Cosmetics also took first place and $2,000 for her company.

“More and more, students are interested in developing business concepts around social causes and the environment,” explained Linda Muir, director of the Institute for New Enterprise. “We hope that adding the social category with a $2,000 cash award will motivate students to take their social ideas and develop sustainable business models.”

Westminster’s Opportunity Quest is a campus-wide business plan competition that fosters and promotes business innovation at the university level by giving students a chance to create, develop and present their business ideas in front of a judging panel made up of local business leaders and investors.

The competition included 31 teams and more than 100 students. Chris Kilbourn, of Monolith Management won 2nd place, and Stephen Mahnken of SLC 9 won 3rd place in this year’s contest.

From September through January, students participated in educational forums on marketing, business plan writing, finance and intellectual property protection. In December, 10 finalists for Opportunity Quest and three finalists for Social Entrepreneurship were selected from the executive summaries submitted.  In January, the teams presented their business plans in front of the judges, and four winners were selected to receive cash prizes.

“As Westminster’s first place winner, Inside & Out Cosmetics will automatically advance as a finalist in the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge (UEC), the statewide business plan competition open to all college students across the state,” added Muir.  “All teams participating in Westminster’s Opportunity Quest can compete in the UEC state competition. The first place winner of the UEC will receive $40,000 in cash to launch the company.”

The 2011-20112 Opportunity Quest was sponsored by the KeyBank, Zions Bank and Strong and Hanni Law Firm.

To learn more about Westminster Opportunity Quest, visit www.westminstercollege.edu/opportunityquest.

Media Contacts: Krista DeAngelis  and Arikka Von (801) 832-2682
Jan. 30, 2012


About The Institute for New Enterprise:
The Institute for New Enterprise at Westminster College has established the Opportunity Quest business plan competition as one of its flagship programs to foster innovative ideas, and provide an experiential learning process to validate, plan and develop sustainable business models.  The Institute for New Enterprise is housed under the Bill and Vieve Gore School of Business with its overall mission to help individuals create organizations that promote independence and self-sufficiency, and make significant contributions to our communities.  For more information visit: www.westminstercollege.edu/ine

About Westminster:
Westminster is a nationally recognized, comprehensive liberal arts college. With a broad array of graduate and undergraduate programs, Westminster is distinguished by its unique environment for learning. Westminster prepares students for success through active and engaged learning, real world experiences and its vibrant campus community. Westminster’s unique location, adjacent to the Rocky Mountains and to the dynamic city of Salt Lake, further enriches the college experience. For more information, visit www.westminstercollege.edu or follow WestminsterSLC on Twitter.