20 Buck Business Blitz Launched by CFE

The Wa'abese testing out their Yapese Jail. Let's hope they brought a key....

Palikir, Pohnpei (February 26, 2016) - The Center for Entrepreneurship (Center) at the College of Micronesia-FSM hosted the 20 Buck Business Blitz (20BBB) over the past week, challenging student teams to take $20 from the Center and grow a small business over the course of six days.  An extra $100 was up for grabs to the team with the most original, scalable, and profitable idea.

The Center provided four student teams of budding entrepreneurs with $20 on Wednesday, February 17th and then it was off to the races.  One team, Try Luck, hosted bingo nights over the weekend and managed to raise over $100 by Tuesday.  Meanwhile, the Diamonds created a trash collection service and clothes sale business.  By Tuesday they had raised $50 and had a really enjoyed themselves, as you can see in the video they posted on Youtube (link to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OmsiEWIHa1w).

The Wa'abese took a different approach and ran several businesses simultaneously, including takeout food on National Campus, a house cleaning service, and even a Yapese Jail, which is a classic party game from Yap.  They made a grand total of $123.15!  Check out their video on the Center's facebook page (link to https://www.facebook.com/entcentercomfsm/) to hear all about it.

The winner of the 20BBB were the Nomads, who recognized a strong need by local fisherman in their local community of Pehleng for accessible fuel and supplies before going out on the water.  Understanding that $20 wasn't enough to start their business, the Nomads held a house party and charged $1 per head and used the $20 to pay for expenses.  They then took the profits from the party and bought supplies for the fishermen.  In the end, they raised $318.60 and received another $100 in prize money!  The leader of the nomads, Midson Tom, said he's excited to continue his business by providing for local fishermen's needs.

Executive Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, Mason Wiley, said he was thoroughly impressed with the ingenuity and industriousness of the students over the six day competition.  "My hope is to get the business community of Pohnpei involved in the next round this summer, where we plan to give teams between $100 and $200 in initial investment and at least a month to fully flesh out a unique business."

To find out more, contact Mason at mwiley@comfsm.fm or drop by the Center for Entrepreneurship on National Campus at the back of the Learning Resource Center.