By Mark Heller
GCU News Bureau
Grand Canyon University's top entrepreneurs are going global this week.
After a mad dash to get passports, international-access phones and other last-minute arrangements finished, the four founding partners of Storage Together travel to Barcelona this week to compete against the best and brightest (ideas and people).
Grand Canyon University students Chelsea Evans, Braeden Scheer, Josh McGuire, Jedidiah Woods and alumnus Luke Amargo reached this pinnacle by winning the Phoenix Smart City Hack competition on Oct. 24. The group will present its shared storage space business proposal this week, along with booths and Q&A sessions.
The Storage Together concept grew out of Amargo’s traffic accident, in which all of his belongings were damaged or destroyed. It helps people to connect with others who have storage space in their home.
An estimated 10-15 other businesses ideas from entrepreneurs around the world (Phoenix, New York City and San Francisco are the United States' representatives) will compete in a variety of entrepreneurial categories, such as “Collaborative Community,” “Civic Engagement” and “Urban Development.”
Beyond the obvious benefits of networking among a 10-page list of attendees and a trip to Barcelona, the winner of each category receives $5,000.
“We get to be the face of GCU and Phoenix (entrepreneurism), and that is exciting and humbling in a big way,” said Scheer, who noted that Phoenix recently was ranked No. 2 in the country for innovation by two national publications.
The group will share an apartment within walking distance of the convention center for the week. Besides Monday’s travel day, the group will be in expos, listening to speakers and preparing for presentations during the day, with plans to explore the city and its indigenous cuisine and prepare for the next day’s events in the evenings. They return to Phoenix on Nov. 18.
Only two members of the Storage Together team originally were slated to make the Barcelona trip, since it was sponsored and funded by the Arizona Institute for Digital Progress (AZIDP) and Cox Communications.
But Scheer said the Colangelo College of Business stepped in to help fund the travel and accommodations for the other two founding members.
The “entrepreneurial spirit” isn’t just a slogan.
“We might be the first start-up to go international (from GCU), and the school has gone above and beyond to put money where its mouth is,” McGuire said. “(Assistant professor) Tim Kelley and (CCOB Dean Dr. Randy Gibb) have been the complete package, and we couldn’t ask for anything more. Ever.”
Contact Mark Heller at (602) 639-7516 or [email protected]
