A brick-and-mortar-free franchise based on his family’s business Kamloops Klosets landed Tanner Sherwood top spot in the 2016 Scotiabank Case Competition.
The award of $6,000 was open to entrepreneurship or new venture creation majors within the Bachelor of Business Administration or Post-Baccalaureate Diploma in business and based on presentations of a comprehensive business plan.
Sherwood, a fourth-year BBA student majoring in new venture creation, presented the winning business plan entitled “Imagine the Room”, an online franchise for a shelving system based on his family’s local business.
While the company uses the Kamloops Klosets name locally, they have recently changed the name to Imagine the Room to accommodate growth and expansion around BC as a manufacturer of their specific type of custom closet hanging system.
“My idea was to expand on the Imagine the Room name and change the current model to expand to new cities in BC and Alberta with a lean franchise model that can be started by one driven individual,” said Sherwood. “Instead of having expensive warehouse space and extensive tools or machinery, Imagine the Room Kamloops will manufacture all necessary pieces so that little or no cutting will be required at a job site and so that any partners can run their business out of an enclosed trailer or van.”
Sherwood was up against stiff competition in fellow students Daria Kalachevskaia and Emily Bouthot. The participants were given 30 minutes to present their original business idea to faculty members, who judged the presentations and business plans according to a rubric that the students were given ahead of time.
“I would highly recommend this competition to any aspiring entrepreneurs. It was a great experience to test my real life idea and get honest feedback from experienced faculty that had both academic and real life knowledge to draw on,” said Sherwood. “I was able to apply many or all of the skills that I learned through the TRU business program, and have already used many of them in my family’s business, especially skills related to marketing, web design and business contracts.”
