Finalists selected for $100,000 student business-plan competition
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Ten finalists have been selected to compete for $100,000 on Tuesday (Feb. 23) during the 23rd annual Burton D. Morgan Business Plan Competition, which highlights promising student-led entrepreneurship efforts.
The five undergraduate student teams who will present in the Black Division are High Gen, eX-Developed, TerraSolutions, CFB Engineering and ROPES. The five Gold Division teams led by graduate students are Pinta, Smart Hydraulic Solutions LLC, BioRegeneration Technologies, PathoCare and Glytrix Inc.
The top prize in the Black Division is $20,000, while the winner of the Gold Division will receive $30,000.
The five undergraduate teams will present their business plans before a panel of judges during the morning session of the event in Discovery Park's , Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Room 121. The graduate teams, which can include faculty, local entrepreneurs and Purdue alumni as supporting team members, will present in the afternoon. An awards dinner follows in the center's Venture Café.
"We have extremely strong student-led teams in the Black and Gold divisions, setting the stage for an exciting event that captures the essence of Purdue's economic development mission of 'Discovery with Delivery'," said Richard Cosier, co-director of the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship and dean of Purdue’s Krannert School of Management.
The undergraduate student teams are:
* High Gen is working to provide design and implementation services for highway projects, using a wind-generated power system for lighting roadways and other utilities. Team members are Christopher Edward and Katelyn Kulczyk.
* eX-Developed is developing a product for the viewing and analysis of the eXtensible business reporting language. Team members are Parker Woods and Joshua Hall.
* TerraSolutions specializes in products made from soybeans and corn, including a cork-like material with a wide variety of uses and biodegradable diapers made of soybeans. Team members are Jacob and Matthew Smoker.
* CFB Engineering is developing an unmanned aerial vehicle for use in reconnaissance and aerial photography. Team members are Matt Cherry, Nathan Forton and Anthony Braun.
* ROPES, or Rapid Orthopedic Pelvic Emergency Splint, is developing a product to help emergency responders stabilize a pelvic fracture faster and more effectively than other current methods. Team members are Jeffrey Fisher and John Poltrack.
The graduate student teams are:
* Pinta is focused on developing search and recommending software products that can make academic and research information more accessible and useful. Team members are Yi Fang, Anthony Sharpe, Nadim Ahmed, Luo Si Aditya Mathur and Suli Xi.
* Smart Hydraulic Solutions is in the process of licensing patents for swash plate pump components from Purdue that have proven to increase pump efficiencies by up to 12 percent. Team members are Eric Lynch, Dheeraj Pandey, Anuj Bathla and Roman Ivantysyn.
* BioRegeneration Technologies is working to commercialize a naturally derived biomaterial scaffold developed by Purdue researchers for tissue regeneration following an injury. Team members are Leonard Kim, Darryl Dickerson, Theresa Gordon and Eric Nauman.
* Pathocare is developing a service that is designed to reduce the human and economic cost of infections in health-care settings. Team members are Colin Sandbach and Michael Triana.
* Glytrix has developed a platform technology for tissue healing and regeneration that also reduces scarring. Team members are Joshua Cox, John Paderi, Alyssa Panitch and Kate Stuart.
Competition sponsors are the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship and Krannert School of Management. Indianapolis-based law firm Ice Miller LLP, which has provided scholarship funding for Purdue's Certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, also is offering in-kind services to the competition's top finishers.
New this year, a student on the top finishing team in each division is eligible for a $5,000 annual Krannert scholarship to its full-time MBA program. The student must apply within five years and meet admissions requirements. In addition, winners from each category are eligible for one seat in Krannert's two-week Applied Management Principles program, commonly known as a mini-MBA, offered each May.
The late Burton D. Morgan established the competition in 1987 with an endowment gift to Purdue. The Burton D. Morgan Foundation funded the $7 million, 31,000-square-foot Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, the first building to open in Discovery Park in 2004.
Writer: Phillip Fiorini, 765-496-3133, pfiorini@purdue.edu
Sources: Richard Cosier, 765-494-4366, rcosier@purdue.edu
Jackie Lanter, 765-494-1335, lanter@purdue.edu