Central Florida Start-up Wins 2016 Crummer Venture Plan Competition
The Rollins College Crummer Graduate School of Business has named Details Flowers, the 2016 winner at its annual Crummer Venture Plan Competition. A competition that was created in 2005 to give Rollins students, alumni, and faculty the opportunity to develop a business, while gaining vital real-world experience that connects them with professionals in the marketplace. This competition is known as Central Florida’s version of the American reality television series, Shark Tank. Startups come head-to-head to battle it out for funding and mentorship from the region’s top entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
Details Flowers, the floral design company battled it out against three other companies last Thursday, March 24th, at Canvs’ newest location in Winter Park. They took home $25,000 in both prizes and cash. Details Flowers’ software allows florists to be sixty times more productive. More productivity means they are completing tasks and projects that would normally take them twenty hours, in just twenty minutes, by using their patent pending design tool.
Details Flowers also has the option for an extra $25,000 in equity funding as part of the partnership between Rollins College and Winter Park-based early-stage venture capital firm venVelo. Together, the partnership has committed to equity funding as well as cash prizes towards the winners of the competition for the next three years. This partnership is going to give participants access to a large network of mentors, who could help ensure the success of their businesses.
Blurtbox, ScopeAround, and Hula were among the runner-ups from the competition and took home $15,000, $7,500, and $2,500. The Venture Plan Competition also awards $10,000 of in-kind services to the participants
“Winning the Rollins Crummer Venture Plan Competition is so exciting and means everything to Details Flowers. It is proof of concept and is going to change lives for people in our industry, bringing them into the 21st century,” said Isabella Johnston, CMO Details Flowers and a graduate of Rollins College. “Participating in Crummer’s competition was a lesson on how important it is for an entrepreneur to be very diligent, open to feedback and surround yourself with a strong team.”
Since 2012, out of the fourteen companies that have been finalists for the competition, thirteen have successfully launched and still remain in business. Past winners include FattMerchant, who won in 2015, and FlexReceipts, who won in 2012.
“The Venture Plan Competition showcases the importance of education rooted in real-world experience, a cornerstone of the Crummer philosophy,” says Cari Coats, Executive Director of the Crummer Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship. “The unique partnership that we have with our winners provides them with limitless potential to make a difference in Central Florida’s entrepreneurial scene and in their industry as a whole. We look forward to collaborating with Details Flowers to help build their business even further.”
