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NEWS BRIEFS
Faces of the Tri-State: Marshall graduate student in running for $10,000 prize
Keri Fridley, a Marshall University graduate student in business, has reached the finals in the 2010 Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition being conducted by West Virginia UniversityÕs Entrepreneurship Center. FridleyÕs business is FridleyÕs Fruits, which grows tomatoes hydroponically with water and nutrients but no soil.
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON -- Keri Fridley isn't well-known around the Tri-State, but she hopes that someday Fridley's Fruits becomes a household name in restaurants, schools and hospitals throughout the region.
She and her husband, Brian, grow organic tomatoes hydroponically with water and nutrients but no soil.
Though the idea was her husband's, Keri Fridley has been in charge of the business plan. Now, the Marshall graduate student is one of 10 students from West Virginia to make it to the finals of the state's Collegiate Business Plan Competition, conducted by West Virginia University's Entrepreneurship Center. On April 10, two winners will receive $10,000 to be used toward the start of their business. Winners also will receive professional business services.
"Hydroponics is something a lot of people don't know about," she said, adding that one company in Putnam County uses the method. "But there are not a lot of organic hydroponics on the market. We hope we can break the barrier a little bit."
According to several informational and educational Web sites, researchers discovered in the 19th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive.
The Fridleys hope to start with tomatoes but plan to add strawberries and raspberries, eggplants and other fruits and vegetables.
They want to supply locally owned restaurants with vegetables and already have garnered attention from a few establishments. She said her husband is a chef at Panera Bread and a student in Mountwest Community and Technical College's culinary program, which has led to strong networking with the restaurant owners, managers and chefs.
"We're just motivated to be healthier people," she said. "I feel as though I am just taking a different angle or view of food, yet still trying to give back to our friends and neighbors in a healthy way."
If she wins, the couple will use the money for a down payment on property to build their first greenhouses. If not, they hope to lure some investors.
"We would definitely need the money," she said. "We're both college students with no financial backing. But a lot of people are behind us. And aside from the prize money, there will be some investors and venture capitalists there."
Keri Fridley said that although only two will receive prize money, many competitors do generate interest from investors that attend.
Fridley, who received a degree in fashion merchandising, said business has been in her blood for a long time.
"My experience within the food industry along with my husband's culinary background and ... my history of growing up with my dad managing grocery stores, may have been all the reasons that influenced our desire to get into the business of food again," she said. "My dad thoroughly enjoyed keeping great looking and tasting produce in his grocery stores for locals to enjoy. My grandparents always had gardens they farmed every year, so fresh, great-tasting food has been a desire of my family for a while."
According to David Spudich, a professor in Marshall's Lewis College of Business, Keri Fridley's business plan developed as an assignment for an entrepreneurship class she took before she graduated in May 2009.
A year later, Keri Fridley works on her computer at the couple's home just on Cherry Lawn Road just outside Huntington. With plants beside her growing through hydroponics, she must look at them and at her business plan and come up with a 20-minute presentation for the April 10 finals. She also must go through another round of interviews with the judges.
When the competition started in the fall, there were 98 applicants from seven colleges and universities. The field was narrowed to 20, and those left had to give a two-minute elevator pitch and 10 interviews with separate judges.
"It's kind of like we're having a kid," she said. "Cause we've been working on this for three or four years, and we're close to seeing it get up and running. It's overwhelming and very exciting."
Students interested in the 2011 competition can contact Spudich at spudich@marshall.edu.
Keri Fridley
Here are some facts about Keri Fridley:
She is a 2009 Marshall University graduate with a degree in apparel design and merchandising and currently a graduate student working on a master's degree in human resources management.
Husband, Brian, is a chef at Panera Bread and student in Mountwest Community and Technical College's culinary program.
The Fridleys developed a business plan for a hydroponics greenhouse, where fruits and vegetables could be grown without soil. They hope to sell their fresh produce to local restaurants, hospitals and schools.
Keri Fridley is one of 10 finalists in the 2010 Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition, conducted by West Virginia University's Entrepreneurship Center. Two winners will receive $10,000 each at the April 10 finals.
The Fridleys say they are motivated to eat healthy and lead healthy lives.
Keri Fridley grew up in a family that owned grocery stores and offered fresh and locally grown produce.
