Goose Capital Awards $350,000 Grand Prize to SwiftSku at Rice Business Plan Competition

Goose Capital, Inc. announced today that it awarded the $350,000 Grand Prize to SwiftSku, the winner of the 2021 Rice University Business Plan Competition. Over the 16 years that Goose Capital has been a sponsor of the competition, it has invested over $20 million in the participants.

“We’re delighted to award the Grand Prize to SwiftSku, and look forward to working together with the management team to help the company grow and prosper,” said Chris Staffel, Managing Director of Goose Capital.

SwiftSku is a startup company founded by Mit Patel and Daniel Mazur from Auburn University, and provides inventory management, business analytics and loyalty programs to convenience stores.  The company already has almost 200 customers and is growing rapidly.  Goose Capital will be investing $350,000 in SwiftSku and may provide additional capital in the future.

"We are excited that Goose Capital is joining SwiftSku’s mission to empower mom and pop convenience stores nationwide to compete against the Goliaths of the industry." Said Mit Patel, Founder and CEO of SwiftSku.

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About SwiftSku

SwiftSku lets mom and pop convenience stores run their businesses like big box retailers. SwiftSku’s app is revolutionizing the industry with real time management and analytics. With 193 convenience stores in 16 states SwiftSku is attacking the supply chain problems of the industry head on. SwiftSku's CEO, Mit Patel, grew up managing the inventory, pricebook, and reporting of his family’s convenience stores, and, when vendors would come by, he’d bridge the language barrier as a translator. More than 85% of independent convenience stores are owned by Indian immigrant families like Mit’s. At SwiftSku, we’ve built a mobile app that connects to POS systems at convenience stores, enabling owners to remotely manage and monitor their c-stores. We take the guesswork out of running a convenience store with predictive analytics, dashboards, and reports. Our position as an analytics platform and payment processor allows us to bridge the data gap between brands, retailers, and consumers.

About Rice Business Plan Competition  

The Rice Business Plan Competition, now in its 21st year, gives collegiate entrepreneurs real-world experience to pitch their startups, enhance their business strategy and learn what it takes to launch a successful company. It has grown from nine teams competing for $10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 54 teams competing for $1.6 million in prizes in 2021. It is the largest and richest student startup competition in the world, with 730 alumni companies having raised $3.2 billion in capital.

About Goose Capital

Goose Capital, which annually offers the Grand Prize at the Rice Business Plan Competition, began 16 years ago as a small group of executives committed to supporting emerging entrepreneurs.  It has evolved into a professional investment organization providing capital, mentorship and board members to early-stage companies. Members of Goose Capital have broad experience across multiple industry sectors.  Goose Capital invests around $10 million per year, and currently has over 20 companies in its portfolio. It primarily invests in early-stage companies with proprietary and disruptive technology, manageable capital needs, large addressable markets, the prospect for high margins and an exit strategy within a five-year time period.

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