The $100,000 Business Plan Competition Is Back at Rady!
The Rady School of Business $100,000 Business Plan Competition is back! The competition is a part of the Entrepreneur Challenge, and for the last ten years, it has been one of the premier student-run entrepreneurial organizations at UC San Diego. Continue reading…
Rutgers Business Summer Camp Grows in Popularity
The Rutgers Business School- Newark and New Brunswick offers high school students the opportunity to experience college life, and business curriculum first hand. The program, which was started in 2014, has grown from 18 campers in attendance for the first year to 28 campers this year. The time frame for the program was also increased this year from five days to seven days.
The Business Summer Camp program at Rutgers was designed to provide high school juniors and seniors to learn business basics through experiential learning, business plan competitions and visits to major business locations near the campus. Campers also focus on the skills that are needed to succeed in life through team work, public speaking and interacting with other people.
Wharton Business Plan Competition and Social Impact Prize Winners Announced
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania announced that the student team Slidejoy won the $30,000 Perlman Grand Prize in the Venture Finals of the 2014 Wharton Business Plan Competition (BPC).
The Venture Finals attracted over 300 venture capitalists, business leaders, faculty members and students. This year the year-long BPC had a record-setting 181 venture concepts submitted, involving 492 individual participants from across 9 Schools at the University of Pennsylvania.
Developed by Sanghoon Kwak MBA’14, Jaeho Chung, alumnus, Robert Seo MBA’12, Slidejoy is an Android app that pays users between $5-$15 per month to view ads every time they unlock their phones. Continue reading…
St John’s University Awarded $16,000 in Prizes at Annual Business Plan Competition
Tobin College of Business – St. John’s University held the fifth annual James and Eileen Christmas Business Plan Competition and Expo on April 5. An internet-based service application that increases efficiency for trade shows and a martial arts after-school program were among the business ideas being pitched by budding entrepreneurs of St John’s University, who competed for $16,000 in prizes during the competition.
The five finalists, chosen from 83 plans submitted by St. John’s students, were vying for a top prize of $5,000 which can be used to upstart their business venture. Remaining competitors displayed their plans during the Expo to attract “investors” from attendees and win cash prizes.
“The Business Plan Competition is an opportunity for students to move beyond the pure classroom experience and actually go through the process of developing a business plan and selling their idea. It’s a great skill that will serve them well throughout any career they choose to pursue,” said James W. Christmas, event founder.
Competition top honors went to Jonathan Weiss, Green Garden Solutions, inventor of a collapsible wheelbarrow; Michael Napolitano, Flutter System, a developer of audio and amplifier systems for crew teams and Kevin Cernuto, Custom Coolers, a lightweight cooler manufacturer that offers attachments to fit multiple items such as seating and electronics. Margurite Lynn McDonald, Shawn Chowdhury and Dylan Moody took the top three Expo prizes.
The panel of notable judges included: James W. Christmas, Former Director and Vice Chairman of PetroHawk Energy; Cathy Borzon, Global CFO for Neo@Ogilvy; Gary Chan, Managing Director, JP Morgan Chase; Richard Haray, Senior Vice President, Corporate Services of the Interpublic Group; and Kathryn Wachsman, Esq., entrepreneur and managing partner of The Law Offices of Harvey F. Wachsman MD, JD, PLLC. Bob Frank, Co-Founder of digital syndication network, Quello, was keynote speaker for the event.
Northeastern University’s Venture Accelerator Reaches Major Milestone
Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business‘ Venture Accelerator, IDEA, reached a 500k milestone in gap funding this month. IDEA was founded by Northeastern students in 2009 as a means to support entrepreneurial endeavors within the university, and since then has funded 35 ventures with grants of up to $10,000.
Over the past five years, IDEA’s Gap Fund has helped 35 ventures—many of them Northeastern students or alumni—jumpstart or continue their journey to success. IDEA ventures have collectively raised $6.4 million in external funding and 14 ventures have “launched” from IDEA.
“It means a lot,” said IDEA CEO Max Kaye, DMSB’14. “Half a million is a big number, and it’s a milestone for IDEA. But more importantly, the outcomes show that the model is working and we’ve helped 35 ventures reach their own significant milestones.”
Each venture is paired with a coach who works on their business plan, introducing them to their network, and offers their services to ventures. Those ventures looking to receive funding through IDEA are put through a rigorous vetting process by both the coaching and investment teams.
The members of the investment team examine each business plan they receive and select those they think are ready to be sent to IDEA’s Advisory Board, which is comprised of members who have made financial contributions to the fund. The selected ventures then prepare a presentation of their company, their projections and an explanation of the milestones they plan to accomplish with the grant.
Collectively IDEA ventures have raised $6.4 million in external funding and 14 have effectively launched their businesses into the market. The gap funding process is one of the most exciting aspects of IDEA because it helps entrepreneurs learn how to recognize critical milestones in the development of a venture, how to articulate them to boards of their peers, and to have a better chance to bring what was once a dream to fruition.
4th Annual Seton Hall University Venture Fund Competition to award $10,000 in Prizes
Seton Hall University’s Stillman School of Business‘ Center for Entrepreneurial Studies will award $10,000 in prizes at the annual Seton Hall University Venture Fund Competition. The public is invited to attend the competition, which will be held on Friday April 11 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Jubilee Hall Auditorium.
“Our five Finalist student teams were selected from an original group of 30 applicants,” said Susan Scherreik, Director of the Stillman School of Business’ Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. “They have worked diligently over the past several weeks to develop plans on how they will respectively launch an innovative startup business,” she added.
At Seton Hall’s version of SharkTank, the finalist student teams will “pitch” their original business ideas to a prestigious panel of outside judges. The judges are: Bill Bartzak, President, CEO and founder of MD On-Line; Sal Cocco, Jr., Financial Consultant, AXA Advisors, Shannon Morris, President, Sigma Group, Pravina Raghavan, Administrator of the Office of Investment and Innovation, U.S. Small Business Administration, and Steve Waldis, Chairman and CEO, Synchronoss Technologies and a member of the Seton Hall University Board of Regents.
The judges will select the winning teams based on both the students’ presentations and written business plans. The judges will evaluate the business models on factors that include creativity, innovation, growth potential, and the venture’s ability to turn a profit. The winning team will receive $6,000 in prize money, and the runner-up team will receive $3,500. Both top winners will also receive business services to help them launch their ventures. Audience members will be asked to cast a vote via their cell phone for their favorite finalist team. The most popular team will receive a $500 Audience Choice Award.
