“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Chinese Proverb
Nancy Richards First Preston HT Founder believes in the power of entrepreneurship to create jobs and change lives. The first place winners of the 2011 Values and Ventures Business Plan Competition are successfully demonstrating the guiding principles of the event.
First place winners of 2011, Ayesha Ghaffar, Emily Hollingsworth and Emilie Lico impressed judges with their venture, Spring Back Recycling (formerly MattressWorks). The enterprise engages and employs formerly homeless and incarcerated workers to dismantle mattresses and recycle mattress parts. Spring Back creates jobs and equips employees with business training and a sustainable future while helping the environment. The Nancy Richards First Preston HT philosophy embodies this type of empowerment.
The Spring Back Recycling team has proven the viability of their concept. The firm is now expanding to multiple markets. Spring Back Nashville, recently celebrated its first year in operation and has recycled over 15,000 mattresses, diverting in excess of 250 tons of waste from landfills. Their Colorado operation opened in August 2012 and has already re-purposed more than 1100 mattresses. In the process they have generated over $110,000 in revenue and are bidding on a government contract. Spring Back Recycling has plans to expand the business model to additional states via licensing agreements.
Both Nancy Richards and Values and Ventures co-founding sponsor, Lisa Barrentine believe in the power of entrepreneurship to transform an economy, and impact the global community.
Successful entrepreneurs in their own right, Nancy Richards and Lisa Barrentine lead the First Preston HT family of companies (First Preston Management, BidSelect, and HomeTelos). During their 25 year history in real estate management and technology solutions, they have marketed and sold over 440,000 properties valued at over $40 billion. They have done so while demonstrating the principles of corporate responsibility and donating over $16 million to community service organizations across the country. Nancy Richards First Preston HT staffers are avid supporters of numerous community service initiatives.
The Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Business Plan Competition is an invitation-only competition for undergraduate students. It rewards values-centered enterprises that incorporate ethics and community service. The competition will be held April 19-20 at TCU’s Brown-Lupton University Union at 2901 Stadium Drive, Fort Worth. Students will compete for $43,000 in total combined cash prizes. The presentation sessions are open to the public.
Follow the two-day competition at www.facebook.com/neeleyschoolofbusinessattcu, on Twitter @NeeleySchoolTCU #tcuvv13, and live at www.neeley.tcu.edu/livestream Saturday 9am-1pm for finalists’ presentations, and Saturday evening beginning at 7pm for announcements of winners.
To read more about the First Preston HT family of companies visit http://www.firstprestonht.com/ Find them on Facebook or follow on Twitter.