A late-night cram session led to a third place finish for a team of College of New Caledonia business students at a competition last weekend.
The students, Charlene Sanderson, Malerie Kelly, Sonia Minard and Justin Walski, competed last weekend at the Western Canadian Business Competition in Kelowna. The competition challenges college and university business students to design a simulated product, and plot out every aspect of an eight-year scenario, from manufacture to marketing. Students were judged based on their strategic plan, their simulation, and two presentations of the product and plan.
The group had prepared a planned roll-out of a high-end remote-controlled drone, complete with a medium-end camera. The group, all second year students at CNC's accounting and finance program, had felt good about their overall plan. But in the first presentation of the competition, nerves set in.
"Our first presentation didn't go very well. We had to come together and re-think that," said team member Sonia Minard.
"We didn't practice it enough and our nerves kind of got the better of us."
The team regrouped, and spent Saturday night working on a retooled marketing plan for the simulated product.
"I think it was almost two in the morning when I said 'that's it, get out," Minard said.
The group began the next day - at six a.m. - armed with a curve ball.
The retooled marketing plan included a wily move. At year six of the business cycle, the group proposed moving from a high-quality drone marketed to professional athletes to a cut-rate, lower priced drone marketed to soccer moms and suburban families.
The move threw off competitors from other schools, who by this point, had copied the initial business plan of the CNC students.
"We went with a medium quality drone at a high price. We ended up coming, out of the first round, first place. Then everybody started to follow what we were doing," said Malerie Kelly.
"Justin came up with the excellent idea of how we needed to get away from the market. We decided to go low quality, low price. That drew us back up in the running and then from there, it was just within bonus points away."
The judges gave the group top marks for the change, calling the retooled plan a brilliant idea.
"We surprised all the other competitors. They were all shocked," Minard said.
Despite the nerves, Minard said the experience was valuable.
"It was great to go and apply the knowledge that we had been learning in something that could be a real life situation," Minard said.
