From left, Lee business majors and “Remedy Flies” creators Ali DiGirolamo, Rebecca Thomas, Derek Murray, Caroline Campbell, and Josh Murphy.
Five Lee business majors will attend the national level of Elevate, a Christian business plan competition, after winning the regional prize. The Lee students involved are Caroline Campbell, Ali DiGirolamo, Josh Murphy, Derek Murray and Rebecca Thomas. Their business, “Remedy Flies,” will include as partners Rainy’s Flies, a fish fly manufacturer, and People for Care and Learning.
Telos Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund based in Silicon Valley, created the Elevate competition. According to Elevate’s vision statement, the competition is meant to mobilize a generation of entrepreneurs and investors "to work for the good of others, use God-given gifts, and multiply God's resources for God's purpose and Kingdom." For a plan to compete, the business must be for profit, founded and owned by college students, and come from a Christian worldview. Ninety business plans were submitted to the regional competition, eight of which were selected to present in Chattanooga. Of those eight, Remedy Flies took first place with the prize of $20,000.
The national competition for Elevate, taking place in California next month, will include entries from Harvard Business School and the University of Arizona, as well as one winner of the runner-ups from each region. Remedy Flies will compete with these three entrants to win the top prize of $50,000.
Remedy Flies originated in January of this year, through the partnership of Lee Associate Professor of Business Guy DeLoach and PCL Assistant Director Jake Stum. After seeing that Rainy’s Flies, one of the top fish fly suppliers in the world, was 16 months behind in fulfilling orders, Mr. DeLoach contacted Mr. Stum about creating a business to fit that need. Mr. Stum, also a part-time faculty member at Lee, presented the idea to the five students in his Economic Development course, who started working on a business plan. Within 10 days of finding out about the Elevate competition, a 30-page business plan was created and submitted by the students.
“We have given a great deal of our time to this company and competition, but we'd like to give credit where it is due," said Mr. Murry. "Jake Stum and Guy DeLoach have been vital to our growth and success, but most of all, we need to thank the Lord. At regionals, we defeated schools and businesses that have been in operation since 2013, while our team just met each other in January. New developments and opportunities materialize for us regularly, and we know without a doubt that this is a ‘God thing.’ We are striving to do our very best to honor Him with our work.”
According to Ms. Campbell, the fish flies can’t be made by machine, and the fly fishing industry is growing both in the United States as well as internationally. The number of stores across the U.S. that list fly fishing as first or second tier sales emphasis rose 32 percent over the past three years. Due to this increase in demand, many companies like Rainy’s are behind in production.
PCL and First Baptist Cleveland have combined to donate $30,000 for the business development. Projected first-year revenue for Remedy Flies is $500,000 with a net income of $200,000, second-year revenue around $1 million with $300,000 net income, and third year-revenue around $2 million with $591,000 net income.
“For the last decade, PCL has been giving the poor a working chance in Cambodia,” said Mr. Stum. “We are excited to be able to partner with Remedy Flies and provide even more jobs to many who are in extreme poverty while simultaneously supporting local village churches and communities. It is a great business plan, but it will also significantly help others as well.”
Remedy Flies plans to launch in September in four sites - two in Cambodia and two in Nepal. In each village, 10 employees will be hired under one manager, who is a pastor of a PCL church in the area. Rainy’s will train the manager to make flies, who will in turn train his or her employees. Each employee will receive fair wages, a school package that will help each of the employee’s children attend college, and an emergency expense fund. At the end of each month, Rainy’s will buy the flies from Remedy Flies and distribute them to retailers around the country. This model could eventually be used in every city where PCL operates, according to Mr. Murray.
PCL is a nonprofit organization that combines training opportunities to create a holistic, systematic approach to break the cycle of poverty. It focuses and operates in five main project areas: Build a City, Sustainable Farming, Common Grounds, Learning Centers, and Children’s Homes.
For more information about Remedy Flies, contact Jake Stum at jake@pcl.is or visit remedyflies.com.