Lettering Works Wins Project Springboard Competition

By Lindsay Anderson '04

Five innovative teams of Bradley University students recently competed in the tenth Project Springboard New Venture Competition.

Chelsie Tamms '16, a Spanish and Graphic Design double major and Marketing minor from Cary, Illinois, won first place with her business, Lettering Works, a custom lettering and card design company that utilizes hand lettering to achieve a more personal and genuine card experience. Tamms will receive a cash award to start her business, plus mentoring from business leaders and other successful entrepreneurs, to help her further launch her business. 

"I had heard about Project Springboard through the prep class last semester," Tamms said. "I already had a business idea, and learning more about entrepreneurship and the business side of things helped me tremendously into making my idea into an actual business."

Competitors Paul Majerczyk ’17, a Mechanical Engineering major and Management and Leadership minor from Darien, Illinois, and Ryan John ’17, an Industrial Engineering major from Bartlett, Illinois presented their business of Bag Boy, a specialized bag holder targeted to consumers who buy in bulk, live in urban areas, and are eco-friendly consumers.

Other competitors included Entrepreneurship alumnus Daniel Bachrach '15 of Northbrook, Illinois, Benjamin Levy '17, a Health Science major from St. Louis, MO, and Adam Levy '17, an MIS major from St. Louis, MO. Their company, Dov Creek Gourmet Snacks, presented seasoned chips with a unique flavor and texture. The Router, a social media network for gaming, was presented by Bryce Schwerbrock '17, an English major from Kewanee, Illinois, and Share, a site that would allow students to rent and share textbooks while cutting student spending, was presented by Entrepreneurship major Zac Copper ’18 from Petaluma, California.

“Project Springboard is a stepping stone of bringing an idea to a reality,” Copper said. “A highlight for me was discovering how much my idea changed throughout the process – it was really cool to see that transformation.”

The mission of the Project Springboard New Venture Competition is to provide real life experience in business development for Bradley University students. This mission supports the university’s entrepreneurship initiative by continually encouraging and educating aspiring entrepreneurs in the creation, start up, and early growth stages of businesses.

“We had a very small group of participants, but the passion for their business idea was larger than life,” Director of the Project Springboard New Venture Competition, Amy Fairfield, said. “The participating students have been working on their ideas for quite some time, and they did a fantastic job presenting their progress using the business model canvas. The judges were very complimentary as well. I would expect to see continued success from this group of entrepreneurs.”

Judges of the competition included Brian Anderson, General Manager at Notionovus LLC; Alexis Khazzam, owner of Junction Ventures; Kip McCoy ’01 MBA ’03, SIMnext Product Manager at OSF Healthcare and Administrator at Central Illinois Angels; and Tammy Waterworth, Vice President, Relationship Manager at PNC Bank.

“Project Springboard is the ultimate experiential learning opportunity,”Darrell Radson, Dean of the Foster College of Business, said. “It engages our students and the business community, and the feedback students receive is invaluable.”