College of Business

 College of Business News Room 

April 21, 2009

CONTACT:
Frances Ryan, WSU CB Marketing and Communications Manager
509/335-3957, frances_ryan@wsu.edu  

WSU Business Plan Competition Awards $100,000

PULLMAN, Wash. – The Washington State University Business Plan Competition, organized by the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in the College of Business, took place in Pullman April 17-18. The two-day event included more than 130 competitors in four divisions, including two WSU divisions, and high school and non-student divisions. Forty-eight teams presented their plans to a panel of judges from the business community, with the winning teams sharing cash and prizes totaling $100,000.

Prior to the two-day event in Pullman, 35 teams from the college’s international campuses in Brig, Switzerland, and Chengdu, China, held preliminary competitions. Two teams from Switzerland and one team from China then traveled to Pullman to participate in the main event. The international teams participated in several events with CB faculty and students prior to the competition.

WSU leagues included both undergraduate and graduate teams, with participants from campuses in Pullman, Tri Cities, and Spokane, and the college’s international campuses in Switzerland and China. For the second time, the competition included a high school league, consisting of three teams from Sammamish High School. This is the third year that the competition included an open league, sponsored by the Port of Whitman. The open league included four teams: three teams from Pullman and one from Colfax.

“The business plan competition continues to be an outstanding, real-world learning opportunity for all of the participants, and this year went way beyond our expectations both in terms of the quantity and quality of entries,” says Len Jessup, director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. “Not only did the competition essentially double in size with the addition of the international preliminary rounds, but we were also very pleased to see 30 different individuals and organizations donate this year not only the $100,000 in awards for participants but also the additional funding we needed to underwrite the competition itself, which is amazing considering the economic environment within which these wonderful people made their generous donations.”

WSU teams gave a 15-minute presentation followed by an intense 15-minute question and answer session by the judges while the high school and open league teams gave a 15-minute presentation followed by a 20-minute question and feedback session. The panel of 45 judges included members of the business community: entrepreneurs from successfully launched businesses; those who are currently participating in an innovative business; venture capitalists; angel investors; and bankers. Judges based their evaluations on the following criteria: quality of the team; quality of the concept; quality of the written plan; quality of the presentation; and whether they would invest in the idea. One winner from each of the WSU student leagues continued on to present on the second day; the high school and open competitions were completed in the first day.

Awards for the competition were as follows:

WSU Undergraduate League
First place honors: Ecowell
Description: Eco-friendly refreshment kiosk
Members: Andy Whitaker, Electrical Engineering; Brian Boler, Electrical Engineering & Chinese; Reid Schilperoort, Finance & Entrepreneurship

WSU Graduate League
First place honors: Lucid Diagnostics
Description: A biomedical diagnostic protocol for women
Members: Second year WSU MBA students Brad Hansen, Siris Silva, and Brandon Holbrook and University of Idaho MBA students Jacob Pierson and Michelle Vachon

Open League
First place honors: Heath Barnes
Description: A hummus manufacturing plant to be located in Whitman County
Members: Heath Barnes

High School League
First place honors: Dolce
Description: Bakery & Specialty Cakes
Members: Sammamish High School students Nabeel Chowdbury and Amanda Nelson

The mission of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies is, through teaching, scholarly research, and outreach, to enable students, business leaders, managers of governmental agencies, scientists, policy makers, and others to better capitalize on their ideas, inventions, and innovations. The center is aimed not only at helping to assist new venture development but also preparing entrepreneurial leaders and improving commercialization within existing organizations. The center is ranked 18th among undergraduate entrepreneurship programs in the United States (Entrepreneur magazine and The Princeton Review 2008). For more information about the WSU Business Plan Competition and the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, visit the center’s Web site at: http://www.business.wsu.edu/Entrepreneurship.  

The WSU College of Business spans the four campuses of WSU with the largest campus in Pullman and urban campuses located in Spokane, Vancouver, and the Tri-Cities area. The college conducts scholarly and applied research, and offers degree programs in a variety of business disciplines, and in hospitality business management, supplementing face-to-face offerings through innovative online learning and international programs. For more information, visit the college’s Web site at http://www.business.wsu.edu.
WSU College of Business, PO Box 644750, Washington State University, Pullman WA 99164-4750, 888-585-5433, Contact Us