Twenty five student-age startup CEOs will compete in Miami this week for the national finals of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA), hosted by the South Florida chapter of Entrepreneurs’ Organization and the Idea Center at Miami Dade College.
Two local students, Andres Cardona of Florida International University and Connor Masterson of University of Miami, will be among the finalists vying for a trip to Bangkok for the global finals and $40,000 in cash and services to build their businesses.
Cardona has launched the Elite Basketball Academy, Inc. and Masterson’s startup is the Royal loyalty rewards program. Other finalists include students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Southern California, University of Pennsylvania and schools throughout the nation and Puerto Rico.
"The ambition and drive of these young CEOs is so impressive,” said Mark Sanna, GSEA chairman and past past president of EO-SOFLO. “We’re very proud to welcome their energy to the city and to serve asthe host chapter of this competition.”
“We feel honored to host this event, and provide MDC’s students the opportunity to learn new experiences from top U.S. entrepreneurs,” added the Idea Center Executive Director Leandro Finol.
The final student presentations will take place Thursday at 2 p.m. and are open to the public.
Pictured above: Barry Kates, president of EO-SOFLO, with Andres Cardona and Connor Masterson.
Update: Winner of the $10,000 prize and heading to the global competition is Peeyush Shrivastava, a student at Ohio State University, His startup is Genetesis (www.genetesis.com), a medical tech company.