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A year ago, Isabella Grinter M.S. ’26 had 90 seconds to explain to a panel of judges why her hobby should become a company.

She was one of 40 University of Tampa students in the annual C.R.E.A.T.E. Business Idea Competition at the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center. Two rounds of competition later, she won first place and $3,000 for her swimwear venture, Izzies Bikinies.

“I never thought of it as a business,” Grinter said. “Since high school, I’ve been making my own bikinis for fun and because I didn’t like the way other brands fit or how their fabric felt. Then I met other girls with the same problem.”

Today she’s a graduate of UTampa’s master’s in entrepreneurship program, and Izzies Bikinis is one of the emerging businesses in the Spartan Incubator Entrepreneurship Certificate program. She also now has four seamstresses working for her and has grown her business from $60,000 in revenue to $200,000.

“When I started, I only knew about the creative side of the business,” Grinter said. “Now we’re working on scaling and creating a structure for operations.”

Students who want to follow in her footsteps can participate in this year’s C.R.E.A.T.E. (Creating Real Entrepreneurial Actions Through Education) competition. The first round of competition is Sept. 24 at 3 p.m. in the pitch room of the Lowth Entrepreneurship Center. The competition is open to all students, and there are 60 spots in the preliminaries.

The top 20 teams will be matched with a mentor and attend weekly sessions to help them refine their idea and expand their pitch in preparation for semifinals on Oct. 23.

Eight teams will advance to the final competition Nov. 12 at 3 p.m. The top three finalists will receive money to fund their businesses.

Students who want to participate in this year’s competition have until Sept. 22 to learn more and register. Each event is free and open to the public.