Seminole State College ESOL Student Honored for New Snack Idea

Submitted by Seminole State College

A language barrier didn’t stop Carolina Alvarez of Oviedo from showing off her business acumen to a panel of CEOs, entrepreneurs and investors. The Seminole State College ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) student jumped at the chance to submit her proposal for the college’s inaugural Seminole Startup business plan competition.

Working extra hard to speak in English, the Venezuelan native successfully convinced the judges that her company offering a healthy snack alternative was indeed a winner. Carolina took home a $500 cash prize. She said,

Carolina’s winning business plan depicted a startup called Avila Snacks, which she recently launched from her home. The company creates tequños, also known as Venezuelan cheese sticks. She says the snacks have 20 percent less sodium and half the calories of a typical snack.

“They are very good for kids, which was one of the major points in my plan,” she said. Carolina, 44, and her husband Jose have two young boys.

Her goal moving forward is to sell the product locally for distribution. At that time, she will ramp up production.

The competition, which invited current Seminole State students to create and develop comprehensive business plans for potential startup companies, drew about 30 submissions.

“Considering this was our first time running this contest, I was overwhelmed with the number and quality of submissions we received,” says David Moradian, a professor and program manager for the Center for Business, Legal and Entrepreneurship at Seminole State, sponsors of the event.

The startup competition was part of the Entrepreneurship Fair on Seminole State’s Sanford/Lake Mary Campus. Based on the collective success of both events, the Seminole Startup competition and the Entrepreneurship Fair will become annual spring events at SSC.

A purse of $5,000 was awarded among the winning entries. Ashley Capp, a sophomore from Orlando, won first place and $2,500 for her proposal of a mobile application that aids in cancer prevention. Sophomore Ryan Griffiths from Lake Mary was runnerup for his fitness app ($1,500) and third place ($500) went to Logan Clemente and Carlos Conejo, dual-enrollment students from Lyman High School. Carolina placed fourth.

Carolina stated,