Loading... Meet the Judges
Five impartial judges will evaluate all business plans. The judges will select finalists and those finalists will have an opportunity to make a presentation of their plans and to be interviewed by the judges. This panel of experienced entrepreneurs was hand chosen due to their continued success in the Wichita Falls area. If a judge has any personal or financial relationship with a competition entrant, that judge will recuse themselves from evaluating that team’s plan or presentation. The judges for 2009 are:
Pete D’Acosta
Pete D’Acosta’s first entrepreneurial venture was D’Acosta Advertising (known today as DesignWorks) when it was founded in Wichita Falls in 1982, followed by the construction and launch of KJTL-Fox18 in 1985. By 1999 when the TV group sold, D’Acosta was partner and CEO of 7 full power and 3 low power TV stations in 4 states. Since 2000, Pete has been partner and CEO of Marketron Broadcast Solutions, a specialized broadcast technology company providing software solutions to over 7000 radio stations worldwide.
Janet Beard
Starting in1982 in Grandfield, Oklahoma at the age of 24, Janet Beard became one of the first women owned independent pharmacies in the nation. Ten years later Harvest Drug & Gift moved into a larger facility in Burkburnett, Texas. Janet Beard specializes in compounding with a focus on natural hormones and nutrition. In 2000 Harvest Drug & Gift moved to Wichita Falls, Texas. Janet is the owner of two Harvest locations in Wichita Falls along with being a co-owner of Harvest Medical Supply. She is past recipient of Torch Awards for Marketplace Ethics and Small Business Person of the Year. Her other interests include ranching in Oklahoma and Texas along with raising cattle, sheep and helping her family in the cutting horse industry.
Tommy Isbell
Tommy Isbell began his business career by starting and then selling a seafood business in Austin. He then started and grew Perm-o-Green, operating the business in five markets at one point before selling off some of the markets. He has also started a development corporation and an energy company with international operations.
Munir Lalani
Munir Lalani’s entrepreneurial journey started when he bought a hamburger and hot dog stand in 1977 at the age of 24. His American dream continued with acquisition of a single Whataburger outlet in 1983; in just five years he expanded his business to ten Whataburger restaurants. After cashing out of Whataburger restaurants business in 2000, Lalani entered the hotel/motel and real estate business and now owns and operate several hotels and real estate holdings.
Harry Patterson
Harry Patterson purchased his first Wichita Falls dealership in 1979 and today has 13 franchises and an RV Center. He is also co-owner of Star Dodge-Hyundai in Abilene, TX. His other businesses involve real estate ventures in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Patterson additionally owns 4P’s Ranch and Boss Man Saddlery, where he raises cattle and breeds, trains and shows Fox Trotter horses.
Judging Criteria
To assess the potential to build a thriving business, the judges will use the following criteria:
- Market need for product/service proposed by entrepreneur
- Innovativeness of product/service
- Quality of management team
- Growth potential. This assessment of potential includes the quality of investment opportunities for potential equity investors and lenders as well as the number and types of jobs created in the region.
