BYU’s Next Unicorn? Student Startup Scores $905K
One of BYU’s student startups earned $905k in prize money at a major collegiate business plan competition.
We All Scream for BYU’s Scoop Squad
October 2016
When then-student Ether Tam learned about a nationwide marketing contest with a $7,000 prize, he had to act fast. With only 10 days to submit a three-minute video presentation, he quickly formed the “Scoop Squad” with classmate Justin Molinaro and student animator Dallin Cheung.
Undeterred by the tight deadline, the Scoop Squad spent long hours and late nights producing a video to highlight a marketing strategy for Unilever’s Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. The plan tapped into the type of college sports rivalries by linking fans with Team Ben or Team Jerry.
In the end, Scoop Squad’s marketing ideas were as enticing as a tub of Chubby Hubby, and the team won first place. Tam told the Unilever staff that if they actively recruited at BYU, “You’d easily have 10, 20, or 30 of the same sorts of submissions.”
Tam graduated this spring. As a student, he received a donor-funded scholarship. “Every scholarship shows that alumni and friends care and that they believe in what we’re doing,” Tam says. “It gave me confidence that someone out there believes in me.”
Related story: https://news.byu.edu/news/sweet-payoff-byu-grad-inspires-team-toward-victory
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