Cody Bagwell, a senior entrepreneur major at Grand Canyon University (GCU), has gained attention for his invention, Fob Mate, a device that attaches fobs to cellphones. Bagwell’s product was recently featured during Welcome Week’s Pop-Ups on the Promenade, an event where more than 40 campus groups set up tents to introduce students and their families to GCU programs and services.
Bagwell won the spring 2025 Canyon Challenge, GCU’s entrepreneurial competition, along with the People’s Choice Award. This recognition allowed him to promote his business further. The Lope Shop, a campus retailer, began selling Fob Mate during Welcome Week—the first time a student-produced product has been offered there.
“The Colangelo College of Business reached out to me directly,” said Lope Shop Operations Manager Garrett Miller. “(Assistant Director of Campus Retail and Licensing) Shelly Schrimpf and I did research and found there was a need for that on campus. It’s Welcome Week, and it’s already selling.”
The Pop-Ups on the Promenade also provided opportunities for incoming students and their families to learn about job openings, volunteer services, intramural sports, and academic programs. Kraig Barthlama, whose daughter Kelsey is starting as a nursing student at GCU, attended the event with his family: “I think it’s great to see all the programs and start getting involved as soon as they get on campus,” he said. “It’s very nice. We’re from Wyoming. This is our first time on a big campus. This is impressive.”
With $3,500 in prize money from the Canyon Challenge, Bagwell invested in producing and marketing Fob Mate for businesses and college campuses—especially targeting underclassmen who may lose their fobs or ID cards.
After returning from Korea where he refined his design by working with manufacturers, Bagwell prepared Fob Mate for retail at the Lope Shop. “I think it was God’s blessing,” said Bagwell. “(The Lope Shop) realized the need in the market, the problems that students had, and it really was very smooth. I thought it was going be a lot harder.”
Bagwell aims to expand sales beyond GCU: “My middle name is Cash, and so I decided to go by that (for the Canyon Challenge),” he explained.
At Pop-Ups on the Promenade, information about student worker jobs was available as well; Katie Nelson of Human Resources described how positions are offered both on campus and off-site with flexible requirements around academic schedules: “We also do tabling after the first few (Monday) Chapels,” she said.
Noah Dunnigan of Rebohoth ministry noted GCU’s faith-based approach: “… At GCU, everything here is prayer-based. So if you’re supposed to be somewhere, God wants you somewhere, you’ll end up there.”
Intramural sports manager Mike Fox emphasized community involvement through athletics: “I think the goal for us is to get as many kids involved as possible…that’s the main goal here.”
Connor Vicary from Colangelo College of Business highlighted opportunities available for students interested in entrepreneurship: “You can come here and learn from these amazing donors…And it can happen. We’re telling them ‘We did it. You can too.’”
