Philly U Student, Athlete, Award-Winning Entrepreneur
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - A Philadelphia University sophomore is scoring on the basketball court and in the business world.
On Saturday, Jordan DeCicco posted 14 points and 16 rebounds for Philadelphia University's men's basketball team.
They lost to Wilmington College, but he's still a winner. That's because last month, he scored the regional Global Student Entrepreneur Award for a product that grew out of a need for a healthy boost to get him through 5 a.m. basketball practice.
"I would just blend up organic coffee recipes with protein and coconut oil that I thought tasted good in my dorm room," he tells KYW Newsradio, "and I would modify the recipe based on consumer feedback, student feedback on campus."
So with his brother, Jake, and help from the school's entrepreneurship lab, DeCicco created Sunniva Super Coffee -- in four flavors -- already at a store near you.
"All the local Whole Foods," he says. "We're just rolling out into more convenience stores."
DeCicco goes to the national competition in March, and, with luck, the global contest in Germany next summer.
"It's very exciting," he adds, "from something that started in my dorm room just over a year ago."