The Big Idea Competition, an entrepreneurial competition sponsored by Catawba College’s Ketner School of Business has narrowed down the 2015 contest to its finalists.

The competition is co-hosted by Dr. Pamela Thompson, dean of Ketner School of Business, and Brannon Williams, CEO of Art’s Cube.

The program is designed to get local creative juices flowing and to provide seed money to budding entrepreneurs.

Last year was the first year of the competition with 22 participants and eight finalists. This year brought in 50 participants in three categories: high school, college students and adults. Fourteen entries were selected for the 2015 final round.

Entrants came from various walks of life and with a wide range of “big ideas.” Some projects were in the field of technology while others included arts, education, or retail focuses.

Shaun Cammack, a junior music major at Catawba College, said he saw “a niche that needed to be filled.” His plan includes a mobile cell phone application that would provide low fee transportation for students needing a ride home after going out for the evening.

Cammack of Lake Toxaway noted that college students often end up driving home after drinking, because there are few options. His plan would allow colleges and universities to sign up for the program where fellow students could text an offer for a ride back to campus for a small fee.  He hopes to pilot the program at Catawba College.

In the adult category, Dawn Holcombe of China Grove works at Catawba in the housekeeping department and makes homemade white board erase solutions. She estimates that the savings in the building she covers would be approximately $100 per year.

“If the entire campus used the homemade solution, that would be quite a savings,” said Holcombe.

The full list of finalists and their project proposals are:

High School

• Baylie Hain, Bay’s Paint Shop – Customized canvas paintings and private instruction or recreational group activities

• Cole Goodnight, Greenway Growing Groups – outdoor team building programs with a focus on environmental education

• Christopher Johnson, HeadFi – Headphones and earbuds in vending machines in various venues

College

• Rhett Holoway, EmiField – Social technology platform to highlight team successes and financial support as well as interaction between others on the team or in the field (golf focus for startup)

• Dustin Deal, Make College Yours – Online sales platform to provide better prices to college students. Advertisement-generated income and business partnership with supplier of products at affordable rates

• Jacob Breig and Zach LaFavre, Mosquito Burrito – Mt. Airy-based restaurant featuring healthy burritos and a fun atmosphere. No current competition for burritos in the area.

• Lincoln Anderson, SoundDown – New car download for computerized vehicle systems to regulate stereo and audio systems to default to a preset volume level, tone setting, and station or input

• Terrence Pruitt, The Caterer – Food delivery system providing phone or text delivery of foods from restaurants without delivery strategies. The goal is to provide healthier options as well as reducing the number of drunk drivers.

• Shaun Cammack, uniBeeper – Mobile application on a subscription basis to allow students to text for a designated driver through a college/university vetted pool of applicants.

Adults

• Dawn Holcombe, Dawnlady – system to make liquid detergents and toiletries with a melt wax feature for candles and lip balm with auto mix temperature control and a cool touch safety feature

• Matthew McCullough –Mobile STEM modules with hands-on materials as well as all equipment needed to execute modules targeted for teachers and community volunteers to improve the educational system

• Gil Zino, Trivia – Provides rich, instant, contextual, private mobile communications and tools for small groups for information sharing and emergency data distribution.

• Perla Munoz, Vico’s Creations – handmade foam molded flowers, dolls and other items for special occasions.

• Dennis Lunsford, Your Kitchen Store and More – An upscale small kitchen appliance retail store located in Downtown Salisbury.

Finalists are all paired with mentors to fully develop business plans and to put together three-minute video proposals.

Mentors for 2015 include Maggi Braun, Rowan-Cabarrus Community College; Heather Teeter, Sweet Meadow Café; Paula Bohland,  Downtown Salisbury Inc.; Steve Larson, TIAA-CREF; Dr. John Wear, Catawba College; Liese Sadler, Live Thread Studio; George Johnson, Carolina Aircraft; Aaron Goss; Robin Perry, Catawba College; Suzanne Bean, IBM; Jackie and Bruce Wilson, Fine Frame Gallery; Margaret and Nick Georgiou, The Palms Restaurant; Dr. Steve Hiatt, Catawba College.

Top entries in each category are awarded $1,000 for project startup costs, second place $500, and third $250. Ralph Ketner contributes funding for the Big Idea contest. Ketner also supported the 2014 pilot project.

An awards ceremony is slated for 7 p.m. on April 30 in Tom Smith Auditorium of Ketner Hall on Catawba College’s campus. Community members are welcome to attend.