What started as a school project for the Ivey New Venture Project quickly evolved into a viable business idea.
Aunt Mary’s Corp., developed by MBA students Ryan Bauer, Erik Lapointe, and Michael Palumbo, strives to balance and counteract the foul taste of medical marijuana and other essential oils. The students are creating powdered mixes that combine with water and oil supplies, offering a non-inhalation alternative.
It wasn't until the team presented their idea on November 25, 2016, for the New Venture Project that they realized they had something special.
“You work on something that is a school project for credit but you don’t really show it to other people," said Palumbo. "It was after we presented in late November and saw other people’s reaction to what we had come up with that I realized that we might have something; we might have a company."
The team went on to win first place at the 2017 IBK Capital – Ivey Business Plan Competition in January, marking Ivey’s first win since 2006.
Aunt Mary's is now part of the first cohort of the new Western Accelerator. Since joining the accelerator and winning the IBK Competition, Aunt Mary’s has secured a partner to conduct research and development on its beverage mix. They are hoping to get four iterations of the powder and continue to process until they find a commercially-viable product.
