Winners of the Great Ideas competition shared they are filled with joy and gratitude to the BYU–Hawaii Willes Center for providing a space for creativity and innovation, which enabled them to present their ideas.
Out of 137 submissions for this year’s Great Ideas Competition, only 40 got into the semi-finals, and out of that, 13 made it to the finals, according to email announcements made by the BYUH Willes Center.
The final competition was held via Zoom on Nov. 12, and whereas previous competitions had five finalists presenting in each category, this year had only three, which were then assigned awards by the judges, with the exception of pre-revenue, which had a tied score in the semi-finals and so four teams made it into the finals.
Great Ideas Competition winners
There were four categories in the competition: young entrepreneurs, social impact, pre-revenue and revenue. Each category had three finalists. First place won $3,000, second place $2,000 and third place $1,000.
In the young entrepreneur category, Cake Queens, founded by Elsie and Pearl Faustino, was awarded first place. Their business idea was baking and selling homemade layer cakes, which they said began after a summer break in Alaska, where they learned about baking cakes.
Seco Towels took second place in the young entrepreneur category, and third place was awarded to Cooking with Cameron.
The first place in the social impact category was awarded to Poly Plastic Fuels. Sterling Kerr created this project, a junior majoring in biology from Utah. According to Kerr’s presentation, the project uses pyrolysis to heat plastics without oxygen resulting in diesel fuel. The project is used to help the Kiribati people clean their ocean and their environment.
Nalu Bowls was awarded second, and Minute Bera secured the third-place award in the social impact category.
In the pre-revenue category, Sempi Shop, which creates English and Spanish home decor, earned first place. It was founded by Ally Pack, Cameron Alexander Cameron and Tanner Leroy Fernandez. Kalau 3D secured second place, and Ease and Self Express tied for third place.
Shaka Tribe, founded by Sam Mangakahia, was awarded first place in the revenue category. According to its website, Shaka Tribe aims to “instill loyalty, strength and courage through deep-rooted connections” through Polynesian designs on bags, phone cover, wallets and more. Bananza came second, and Mayan Illustrations secured third place.
Jason Scott Earl, an associate professor in the Faculty of Business & Government, emphasized the objectives of the Willes Center are to “increase testimonies in the gospel of Jesus Christ, provide entrepreneurial knowledge, skills and leadership, and build a team of entrepreneurs who will teach by the Spirit of God.”
Expressing gratitude for a great opportunity
Melanie Renay, a supply chain expert who was a judge at the competition, said, “Even if you are not first, do not let it derail you. We’re just humans. We’re here to help, and it’s something we had to judge.” She expressed how great the performances were by all participants.
The Cake Queens girls Elsie and Pearl Faustino said they are super happy about winning, and their father and director of BYUH's Ho'okele Department, James Faustino, said, "They have put in orders for more custom stickers, supplies and are enthusiastically designing aprons."
He said the girls got a lot of support "from faculty and staff who saw and bought their cakes to support their business, to friends from school who tuned in through the encouragement of their kumu."
Kerr said, “All I could say is, I felt humbled. I know there is no possible way I could have done this on my own without my teammates Alli Barney and Les Harper.”
Kerr’s team expressed their happiness to use the money they won to invest in Poly Plastic Fuel, which will help reduce the danger plastics may cause to the ocean and the environment, especially on the islands of Kiribati.
Cameron Alexander Cameron, a sophomore from Australia majoring in business finance and a member of the Sempi Shop team, said, “I am grateful and happy for our success today. … I appreciate the teamwork and the great experience we have working together, which is most important.”
“It’s such an amazing spiritual moment,” he added.
Pack, a sophomore from Idaho studying marketing and founder of Sempi Shop, said, “For me, this is about talking about Christ just like the judges were saying.” She emphasized the greatness of the experience and professors as mentors.
Advice from mentors to participants
In his remarks at the competition’s final session, President Kauwe emphasized the parallels he had in his own life. He said, “I have to sell my ideas … in grand applications.” He noted how, similarly to the participants, he had to convince others his idea of curing Alzheimer’s disease is better than other ideas.
“It’s actually not very different from all these other problems you are trying to solve,” President Kauwe said. He spoke of how there is success in the scientific world by experts who have done their best to solve particular issues who failed at the first attempts but became successful in the end.
President Kauwe congratulated all the participants in the competition. He encouraged them to continue moving forward with their innovative ideas and never let failure become a stumbling block.
Tiffany Robbins, founder of The Sewing Kid and a judge in the competition, said, “I have a small company, and that’s what I like. I am all about relationships.
“I was super nervous when I started. I want to encourage you all to believe in yourself. You got to be realistic, and be authentic because that’s what people want,” Robbins expressed.
“Be true to yourselves even if it’s weird or when you make mistakes.”