The verdict is in: Team ‘It’s All Legal’ won their case at the Summer 2022 Great Capstone Case Competition on Friday. Business students, Marvin Fung, George Miller, Austin Phouangphrachanh, Michael Serrano and William Walton took home $500 each in scholarship funding, thanks to competition sponsor Platinum Technologies.
It’s All Legal beat out eight other teams in the business plan competition with their recommendation that Platinum Technologies extend its artificial intelligence and cloud computing services to the Veterans Administration and other U.S. government contracts.
“Our strategic proposal involved adding a new venture within the VA, which is a very fast-growing market. With a competitive entry point, we think they would generate $19 million per year in revenue,” It’s All Legal spokesman Serrano said. “We believe our ambition propelled us to look wider in terms of opportunities for Platinum Technologies to grow.”
Team 5 Knights (Samuel Curran, Thomas Hoyla, Sebastian Pancorbo, Vinnie Sanfilippo and Christoph Schaefer) finished second, earning $250 each; and Team BAKZ (Brady Blocker, Adrian Vasquez, Kiara Deleon and Zachariah Bush) took home third place and $150 each.
The judges panel included representatives from Platinum Technologies who gave valuable feedback to the competitors. UCF alum Jermon Bafaty ’01, founder and CEO of Platinum Technologies, was impressed with the research and strategic recommendations that each team delivered.
“Analyzing the government contracting market is likely very different from most industries,” said Bafaty, who recently received an Honorable Knight Award at the college’s 2022 Hall of Fame ceremony. “The students accepted the challenge and turned out some great ideas for our company to consider. I was impressed with their preparation, confidence and team collaboration. As a proud alum from the school of business, I’m excited for the future of this graduating class and honored to have sponsored the Capstone competition.”
The Great Capstone Case Competition challenges business students to develop strategic recommendations for real-world business issues as part of their final coursework.
“I am thoroughly proud of the notable accomplishments from our students in this eight-week course,” said Christopher Leo, associate lecturer of the Strategic Management course. “They learned so much about the IT consulting industry and, with the help of our amazing team of lab instructors, were able to apply strategic management principles to a real company. Our goal in the Strategic Management course is to create meaningful and memorable experiences for them as they move forward in their careers.”
This semester the winning team also picked up a special award: the Nichols Cup, named in honor of longtime Capstone instructor, the late Gary Nichols ’87.
“The Nichols Cup is named after our friend Gary for two reasons,” said Lonny Butcher, an associate instructor of Management, who donated the trophy. “First, he was incredibly competitive and wanted his teams to win every semester. But more than that, he represented the very best of what we do. Gary’s enthusiasm and love of teaching helped to remind us just how awesome this job really is.”
The lab instructor of the winning team, Elton Creagh, will keep this trophy in his office for a full semester until the next competition.