Business plan competition winner wants his own business

Jared Greer, foreground, makes a Tears for Life presentation at The Moot Corp competition.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Jared Greer caught the entrepreneurial bug last year while getting his Master of Business Administration at the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. While taking Carol Reeves’ new venture development course, he and his team proposed a company call Tears for Life, which won almost $100,000 in national business plan competitions.

Greer and his wife, Sarah, now have an opportunity to win a TCBY frozen-yogurt franchise. Last fall they submitted a two-minute video and a 500-word essay explaining why they should be the new owners of a TCBY franchise. They recently learned that they were chosen as one of the 10 best entries from across the country.

Greer said, “My wife, Sarah, and I have an almost obsessive passion for TCBY products that began when I worked at TCBY in high school. While I was getting my M.B.A., I also discovered that entrepreneurship was our true passion and that Sarah and I definitely wanted to run our own business in the future. When we found out that our favorite frozen yogurt franchise was offering a free store, we knew that this was the perfect chance to begin a new challenge with a wonderful product.”

The video entries of each of the 10 semifinalists will be posted on the TCBY Web site for online voting by the public during the period April 26 through May 10. The top five videos selected by the public will be finalists for the Grand Prize. TCBY will then evaluate the final five prospective franchisees and determine the Grand Prize Winner.

“Our critical need is for everyone in northwest Arkansas, although people from anywhere can vote for us, to vote for us at www.tcby.com during the voting period,” said Jared Greer. “That way we can bring TCBY’s delicious, 96 percent fat-free frozen yogurt back to northwest Arkansas. Our hope is that we can win this franchise, create 20-30 new jobs, deliver an outstanding product to area consumers, and do our best to be good representatives of northwest Arkansas.”

Both alumni of the University of Arkansas, Jared Greer also holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Sarah Greer holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Jared Greer has worked in pharmaceutical sales for seven years, and Sarah Greer has four years of sales experience and is currently a biopharmaceutical sales representative. They also own and manage another small business, Greer Property Solutions, and are active volunteers in the community. He volunteers for the Komen Foundation and Children’s Safety Center, and Sarah Greer works with the Children’s Safety Center, LifeStyles and the Battered Women’s Shelter.

While in the Walton College M.B.A. program, Greer and his Tears for Life Team won first place in the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Cup; first runner-up in the Global Moot Corp Competition, the Super Bowl of business plan competitions; first place in the Tulane University business plan competition; first place and innovation award in the Donald W. Reynolds Arkansas Governor’s Cup; and first place in the University of Cincinnati Spirit of Enterprise M.B.A. Business Plan Competition.