RICHMOND, Ky. – Greg Compton, a business student at Eastern Kentucky University, participated in the inaugural statewide business plan contest for entrepreneurs. The competition, called “Idea State U,” is designed to help identify and support the next generation of Kentucky innovators and entrepreneurs and was sponsored and managed by the Department of Commercialization and Innovation within the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

Compton, of Lexington, presented a business plan for a proposed company, Home Sweet Home. The company would help elderly individuals prolong their period of independent living through lifestyle interviews, a home inspection and a subsequent action plan. Compton was judged to have the best undergraduate student “Elevator Pitch,” a 60-second oral synopsis of his business plan.

Compton developed his business plan with the help of faculty advisors Bill Davig, Maurice Reid and Kristel Smith. The Idea State U Competition Committee selected Davig for the second-place faculty advisor award for his efforts. He received a cash award of $500.

“This is where creative new ideas become next-generation businesses. One day the commonwealth will see these entrepreneurs and their ideas creating new jobs for Kentuckians,” said John Hindman, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. “The cash awards to the entrepreneur team also will help support the students as they work to turn their business dream into a real-world company.”

Compton was among nearly 50 participants in the competition. In all, “Idea State U” featured five teams of graduate students and 10 teams of undergraduates from six of Kentucky’s universities. In addition to EKU, students participated from Western Kentucky University, Morehead State University, University of Louisville, University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University.

EKU student Greg Compton

Compton's entry for the Statewide Business Plan Competition grew out of his participation in the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Collegiate Business Concept Challenge.  EKU management instructor Maurice Reid and Kristel Smith, Interim Executive Director of the Center for Economic Development, Entrepreneurship and Technology (CEDET), worked with him to develop this entry in which he won first place.  Compton and Reid will receive their Collegiate Concept award at the Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards luncheon at The Center for Rural Development on September 8. The Excellence in Entrepreneurship Awards for Eastern and Southern Kentucky is a partnership among the EKU College of Business and Technology, Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation, and The Center for Rural Development. For more information on the EIEA program, see the program website at www.eiea.eku.edu.

Richmond Register Article, May 13, 2008