News Releases

Business student wins Morris entrepreneurship competition

Thursday, July 16, 2009

BY LAURA WOLFE

School of Business student Tyler Johnson's new venture business plan has been awarded the winner of The Mark L. Morris, Jr. New Venture Development competition. The competition is held among undergraduate students at the University of Kansas in the spring and fall semesters. This spring, more than 75 new venture business plan summaries were submitted by individuals or groups of up to four students.

From the entries, judges selected the top ten business plan summaries to compete for four awards of $1000. The four finalists presented their plans via individual conference calls with the judges. From the finalists, judges selected Johnson's new venture business plan.

Johnson, senior in accounting from Dayton, Wyoming, was awarded an additional $1500 and the chance to compete again in the fall competition. Johnson's new venture, On The Beaten Path Trail Contractors, LLC, is a company that would improve trails through national parks for better hiking and trail riding.

"I decided on this plan because of my love of the outdoors, and also the dire need for a company like this," said Johnson. "There is close to $3 billion in funds available to pay for trail construction and rehabilitation in the United States. On the Beaten Path will cater to government agencies by submitting bids for minimum tool work in Wilderness Areas and National Parks."

"Tyler did a lot of research in assembling his very complete business plan," said Wally Meyer, School of Business Director of Entrepreneurship Programs. "He even anticipated the challenges of attracting and retaining labor for his new venture by identifying ski professionals who, with their love of the mountains and need for counter seasonal employment, would be ideal employees for his new company."

The Mark L. Morris New Venture Development Award was created to encourage entrepreneurial behavior and provide experiential learning to all undergraduate students at the University of Kansas. The competition and awards are sponsored by Morgan Creek Capital Management in honor of Mark L. Morris, Jr., an entrepreneur and veterinarian from Kansas. The winning award comes from Morris' son David, also an entrepreneur and one of the judges of the competition. This fall, the competition will be expanded to include a separate category of MBA students' new venture development plans.