Team of Lindsey Wilson students offers ideas to strengthen young software company in contest held by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education.
COLUMBIA, KY. (04/03/2025) When a company wants to attract more consumers, there is no better way to go about it than to ask consumers for their advice.
That’s what a group of Lindsey Wilson College students recently offered WealthFluent, a 5-year-old software development company that aims to make financial decisions easier for consumers.
The four Lindsey Wilson students were members of a team who competed in a national competition held by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education. A total of 12 teams were chosen from among 54 college teams who submitted a business proposal to the company.
The Lindsey Wilson team did not come out on top in the competition, but Lindsey Wilson business professor Cathy Boatright said that did not overshadow the “phenomenal job” the students did on their project. Along with fellow business faculty member JC Phelps, Boatright worked with the students on their presentation to the WealthFluent leadership team.
The four Lindsey Wilson students — Alessia Bergesio ’25, Elisa Burzio ’25, Gage Carnes ’26 and Zachary Pruitt ’26 — made their presentation over Zoom to the company’s leaders. The Lindsey Wilson students outlined their research, strategy and steps WealthFluent should take to consider increasing the product’s appeal among consumers.
“I was definitely a little nervous at first,” said Carnes, a theatre and business double major who is from Jamestown, Kentucky. “But I enjoyed it a lot once we got started. It was a very educational experience for me.”
Once the students learned their team had been selected for the final round, they had about 48 hours to turn a proposal into a full-blown presentation that analyzed WealthFluent’s target audience, competitive landscape, and marketing and engagement – and made recommendations.
Phelps said the project was another example of Lindsey Wilson’s business department “putting our program into action.”
“I think it shows how wide the business discipline is, and no matter what a student’s skill sets are, there’s a place for them in the business sector,” he said.
The students said that Lindsey Wilson’s variety of business courses also helped prepare them for the project.
“We drew on so many different classes for this work,” said Burzio, a business major from Chieri, Italy. “This kind of environment is going to help us when we leave college in a month-and-a-half because we had to work under pressure. I work good under pressure. When I have to get out of something, I find a way to do it.”
Pruitt said he also enjoyed getting to apply what he has learned at Lindsey Wilson to help a bona fide company solve some of its challenges.
“It’s really insightful to talk with a real company, because you get a chance to apply the knowledge we’ve gained in our classes to help them,” said Pruitt, a business major from Burkesville, Kentucky.
Gage even drew on lessons he learned from his theatre classes. When the WealthFluent’s Zoom connection experienced technical difficulties, an unfazed Gage got creative to push ahead with the presentation.
“One of the things you’re taught in the acting world is that the show must go on,” he said.
Four Lindsey Wilson College business students competed in a national competition held by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education to help the software development company WealthFluent. From left: Alessia Bergesio ’25 of Serralunga d’Alba, Italy; Gage Carnes ’26 of Jamestown, Kentucky; Elisa Burzio ’25 of Chieri, Italy; and Zachary Pruitt ’26 of Burkesville, Kentucky.
Four Lindsey Wilson College business students competed in a national competition held by the International Accreditation Council for Business Education to help the software development company WealthFluent. They worked on the project with Lindsey Wilson business professors Cathy Boatright and JC Phelps. From left: Zachary Pruitt ’26 of Burkesville, Kentucky; Alessia Bergesio ’25 of Serralunga d’Alba, Italy; Boatright; Elisa Burzio ’25 of Chieri, Italy; Gage Carnes ’26 of Jamestown, Kentucky; and Phelps.
Lindsey Wilson College is a vibrant liberal arts college in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey WIlson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson has an enrollment of more than 4,000 students, and the college offers 28 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson College)