Columbia Team Redesigns Wheel

A team of Columbia Engineering students has earned a spot in the finals of a national business plan competition.

 

The team of four students – three are students in the Columbia Video Network (CVN) distance-learning program and are employees of Boeing – won the regional competition of Walmart’s Better Living Business Plan Challenge. They beat teams from MIT, NYU, Renssalaer Polytechnic Institute, Babson College and Baruch College.

 

The winning project for the proposed business – Composi-Tech – involves making significantly lighter wheels made of composite materials for large transport vehicles and buses, consequently improving total efficiency and reducing operational cost. Their 23-page business plan included significant details about organization, a marketing plan and financial documents.

 

The team consists of Columbia’s Romar Frazier, John Sims and Mark Byers, as well as Dramel Frazier. The adviser is Jack McGourty, Senior Associate Dean of Corporate, Government and Global Engagement and director of Columbia Engineering’s Center for Technology, Innovation and Community Engagement (CTICE), which co-hosted the competition with Columbia’s Business School. The team’s coach is Alessandro Piol, a member of CTICE’s Entrepreneurship Advisory Board and a partner in his venture capital firm. The team will compete in April at the national finals.