November 16, 2007

Contest gives Purdue students chance to show entrepreneurial skills

The deadline for registration is Feb. 8. Those interested in applying their business skills or who have an idea for an enterprise or marketable technology should attend one of the informational call-out sessions at 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 or Jan. 9 in the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, Room 121, or register online by Feb. 8. Registration information and the complete competition calendar are available at https://www.purdue.edu/dp/Entrepreneurship/programs/
competition/bdmCompetition/teamRegistration.htm 

Participants in the competition will have an opportunity to define their ideas in commercial terms and to compete for cash to further the commercialization of their inventions.

The Gold, or open, division teams can include non-student members as long as no more than 20 percent of the team is composed of non-Purdue personnel. The Black, or undergraduate, division teams can include only undergraduate Purdue students, but may include a faculty adviser. In both divisions, only Purdue students may make the presentations to the judges.

The competition has two phases: the first requires the submission of a mini-plan, or an executive summary, by Feb. 8. Semifinalists from each division will be announced Feb. 18 and asked to submit their full business plans by March 7. Then, five finalists from each division will be selected to present their plans to a panel of judges at the April 8 final competition.

Prizes in the Gold Division are $40,000 for first place; $12,000 for second place; $8,000 for third place; $3,500 for fourth place; and $1,500 for fifth place. Prizes for the Black Division are $20,000 for first place; $7,000 for second place; $5,000 for third place; $2,500 for fourth place; and $1,000 for fifth place.

In addition to the prize money, the top three winners from the Gold Division will receive free legal and consulting services from the competition's associate sponsor, Ice Miller LLC, an Indianapolis-based legal and business advising firm. The value of the services is $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second place and $2,000 for third place.

The Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurial Competition, and the building, were named for a Purdue alumnus who wanted to help Purdue students develop an appreciation of the free market system and the role of the entrepreneur in a market economy. Morgan started 50 companies, six of which became major corporations. Morgan, who died in 2003, received his Purdue degree in mechanical engineering in 1938. In 1992, the university awarded him an honorary doctorate in management.

The center leads Purdue's Kauffman Campuses Initiative for fostering entrepreneurship programs across campus. The national initiative emphasizes student entrepreneurial ideas and ventures, and makes entrepreneurship education available on campuses across the country.

For information, contact Jackie Lanter, lanter@purdue.edu, (765) 494-6400.

Media contact: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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