BHP Students Take First Place In SCI Case Competition

It is no secret that Austin, Texas is the place to be right now for anything to do with business. Entrepreneurs are flocking to get their startups off the ground, businessmen and women are migrating from the Silicon Valley to the Silicon Hills and everyone who’s anyone is talking about ATX. As businesses are growing, they’re also presented with bumps along the way, which is when consultants are able to lend a helping hand. The UT Student Consulting Initiative (SCI) is more than happy to offer their services to the booming business of Austin.

SCI hosted their Annual Fall Case Competition Saturday, November 23, which was sponsored by the BBA Alumni Excellence Foundation, EYAdvisory, OSL, Student Government and SCI alumni. The competition lasts two months and teams were tasked with assisting a local business with their needs from internal communication to marketing and more. Nine teams competed in the competition pairing with different local businesses. “We were very impressed with the results this year,” said SCI Co-Chair, Holli Wertheimer. “The students created a wide range of deliverables from marketing campaigns to inventory management tools to compensation requirements among many others.”

The winning team worked with Fair Bean Coffee on their internal communications and employee retention for a prize of $1,200. The team consisted of Jason Prideaux, BHP, Finance and Plan II ’16, David Kaplan, BHP & Corporate Finance ’16, Douglas Berkman, BHP ’16, and Catherine Anne Prideaux, BHP & Plan II ’16.

“This was a tremendous learning experience,” said Douglas Berkman, a member of the winning team. “The case competition provided me with insight on what it is like to be a consultant for a real company with real employees and a real owner.” Many of the students felt it was a good experience even for those not currently pursuing consulting, “I entered the competition for experience,” said Catherine Anne Prideaux. “I would highly recommend doing SCI even if you’re not considering consulting!” All four team members noted that their group meetings were one of their favorite parts of the competition.

If you’re interested in learning more about SCI, visit their website.

This article originally appeared on BBA News.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *