Healthy competition

A business idea to produce healthy snacks that are not overly engineered is the winner of the 2024 Wright Venture competition, the annual entrepreneurial competition hosted by the Raj Soin College of Business.

Supply chain management student Tarek Hamed was the winner of the contest and received $5,000 in startup funding an additional donation of $1,000 from James Investment Research.

Hamed and his partner Jamal Pracha cofounded Sam Snacks, a healthy snack alternative for busy people on the go. During their presentation, they both offered a product sample for the judges that contained fresh dates, cashews, peanut oil and salt.

“It was really an awesome experience to test of what entrepreneurship is all about and build a company from the ground up,” said Hamed.

Hamed competed against four other Raj Soin College of Business students during Wright Venture:

• The Elite Clean residential and commercial cleaning service, by Marvin Mbah, an entrepreneurship major

• Macaw Marketing, a digital marketing agency geared toward small businesses, by Victoria Smith, a marketing major

• Professor Lynny, a pacifier that is shaped differently for better support and will not constantly fall out of a baby’s mouth, by Michael Mathews, an MBA student

• Taggage, a luggage transport service, by Andrew Wiseman, an entrepreneurship major

Professor Lynny was awarded second place and received a $500 donation from James Investment Research. The Elite Clean took home third place and received a $250 donation.

During the competition, students also receive detailed feedback about their presentations and business ideas from the judges.

The judges for this year’s competition were Lesley Ott, chief operating officer at James Investment Research; Jonah Sandler, founder of Scene75; and Beth Savage, former owner and CEO of PQ Systems.

The Wright Venture program is funded by Barry James/James Investment Research and organized by the School of Supply Chain Management, Marketing and Management in the Raj Soin College of Business and the Entrepreneurship Club.