<strong>From staff reports</strong>

Beaufort’s Kenneth Spurlock and his team are preparing to compete in the final round of this year's Baker Business Bowl, after having cleared the semifinal.

The Baker Business Bowl is a program at The Citadel aimed at budding entrepreneurs who have an idea for a new product or service, and the desire to turn that idea into a business. It's open to cadets, evening undergraduate students, and graduate students.

Contestants participate in teams and compete in three rounds. The final five teams are given the opportunity to attend a series of educational workshops on how to develop their full business plan.

The final round of the Baker Business Bowl VI will be in April 2021.

The winning team will be awarded $10,000 to help them start their business, while the second-place team will receive $5,000. The prize money is made possible by The Citadel Class of 1989.

The second round featured nine teams of would-be entrepreneurs, but now there are only five teams left standing.

In November, each of the nine teams were given five minutes to present their business ideas to a panel of business experts. After the teams pitched their ideas, the judges were given 10 minutes to ask questions.

Though the judges, competitors and a select few others were physically present – most of the audience watched the competition via Zoom.

The final business ideas include: designing and building an off-road BAJA vehicle (Spurlock’s team), a 3D printing filament recycler that can also convert used bottles into filament, a one-handed Xbox controller, a solar-powered dehumidifier, and an app that allows you to schedule hair stylists to visit you at home much like Uber Eats.