| "This is an outstanding
opportunity for students to demonstrate the skills they've learned
throughout the semester developing a business plan," said Professor
Stephen Lawrence, who teaches the Business Plan Preparation course
at CU-Boulder. "The impressive prize money adds prestige to this important
experience."
Lawrence evaluated
12 business plans created by his students and identified the top
four finalists to compete at the event.
"Our students are extremely
talented; this event showcases their abilities," he said. "They
couple the innovation of creating a new idea with the intricacies
of developing a technical business plan. Some graduates of our program
use these plans to start new ventures."
The competition's $45,000
prize money is the nation's second highest business plan competition
total behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Bank One donated $15,000
to the competition's winning teams. The Integer Group, Colorado's
largest marketing firm, offered $10,000 in prize money to the top
marketing-oriented plan. Cornerstone Equities, a privately owned
Colorado venture fund, sponsored the Cornerstone Seed Capital Award,
which dedicates $20,000 to the plan with the greatest promise as
a viable, growth-oriented firm. In addition, Cornerstone will invest
between $25,000 and $250,000 as start-up capital in the winning
team's venture. bus.colorado.edu/centers/entrep/home.htm
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