A Bond University Executive MBA team will represent Australia at the world renowned International Moot Corp Competition, following their dominating performance at the inaugural John Heine Entrepreneurial Challenge (JHEC) - Australia’s premier business planning competition.
The talented team of four swept the stage at the JHEC (formerly Moot Corp Australia) this past weekend, being judged Overall Winner in addition to winning the Academic Advisor’s award and the 60-second “elevator pitch” competition.
Bond University MBA students Drew Blaxland, Veronica Boulton, Laurie Martyn and Daniel Noordzy presented their Nudleman TM business plan to a panel of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and CEOs, out-shining the other four finalist teams from the Queensland University of Technology, Monash, Deakin and Swinburne Universities to take top honours.
The team developed the Nudleman TM business concept to meet the needs of today’s time-poor and health conscious population. Their brand promise of high quality, fast served Asian-style meals is characterised by a sixty-second preparation time and widespread point of sale through mobile Noodle Vending Units (NVUs).
Academic Advisor to the team and Bond University Teaching Fellow Baden U’Ren said it was the team’s real-world approach and practical business nous that helped them stand out from the rest.
“The judges stated that out of all the contestants, Nudleman TM had the best overall business vision. They said they believed it was a viable business opportunity and had the capacity to make money,” Mr U’ren said.
“Unlike most of its competitors, the Nudleman TM concept didn’t rely on disruptive proprietary technology; rather, it was the result of clever branding leveraging the unique characteristics of the product and the practical application of the team’s business knowledge,” he said.
As Overall Winners of the John Heine Entrepreneurial Challenge the team received $10,000 in seed money to assist in developing the business, as well as $15,000 to cover the expenses of representing Australia in the International Moot Corp Competition.
Held annually at the University of Texas in the United States, the Moot Corp International Challenge attracts entries from 30 of the world's best business schools. It is touted as the “The Super Bowl of World Business-Planning Competitions” and offers the largest guaranteed prize of any student contest in the world, equivalent to around 180,000 USD.
This won’t be the first time Bond University will represent Australia in the prestigious contest. The university has a reputation as the most consistent performer in the international challenge, having previously championed over the likes of the Harvard, Stanford and UCLA to be record three-time world champions.
Business Faculty Dean Professor Garry Marchant attributes the success of Bond’s MBA students to the intensely practical nature of the program.
“Too many MBA programs focus on abstract scientific theory at the expense of actual business practice. Business is not a science,” Professor Marchant said.
“The point of difference with Bond’s MBA Program is that it focuses on real-life situations and uses experiential learning to build an understanding of the impact management decisions can have on the running of a business.
“We have designed our MBA to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in our students, and I think our strong record of success in competitions like the international Moot Corp Challenge signifies that we are doing this well.
“I commend The John Heine Entrepreneurial Challenge for providing a forum for students to experience the real venture capital raising process as they launch and manage their own businesses,” he said.
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