Florida Member Jessica Cervantes Wins First Place in National Entrepreneurship Competition
Jessica Cervantes, senior at Ferguson High School in Miami, Florida, recently won first place in the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) National Business Plan Competition, held on October 23, 2008, in New York City. She competed against 25,000 business students across the nation and went on to become the first place national winner.
Jessica won the entrepreneurship challenge with her Popsy Cake enterprise, winning $10,000 in prize money to help establish her business.
After researching complaints that children’s snacks are often too messy, she came up with the idea of developing cupcakes on a stick. After a great deal of trial and error making cupcakes that tasted good and finding sticks that wouldn’t break, she perfected the treat. She now makes a variety of Popsy Cakes for different occasions. She is also creating a recipe using artificial sweeteners and low-fat icing.
Jessica faced 35 other students in the finals of the nationwide competition. Judge Dia Simms, general manager of Blue Flame Marketing & Advertising, was impressed with Jessica’s realistic and workable business plan: “She seemed like she could walk away and hand her plan to someone, and they could execute it.”
Jessica hopes to patent her Popsy Cakes recipe and contract with boutique bakeries to produce and sell her snacks.