Students’ interest widens in statewide business plan contest
The Governors Cup business plan competition drew 44 teams from eight college campuses, including the state’s community colleges. And this year more entries centered on green and energy efficient business plans, says Dave Archer, managing director of Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, which oversaw the competition.
“Younger people are more attuned to this and it’s reflected in their business plans,” he says.
Previous teams were largely fielded by business and engineering majors but this year saw four teams from from journalism schools. One proposed a Web site for Hispanic families and another a health food guide.
Judges scored the winners on best business plan: a well-thought-out, cohesive idea for a business. The plans combined planning for marketing, human resources and finance.
Prizes of $20,000, $10,000, and $5,000 went to the first, second and third place winners. Prizes for the Lt. Governor’s Award for best green business plan totaled $10,000.
Undergraduate winners were: Weingart & Keranen Environmental Solutions, first place. Team members from Sierra Nevada College are James Weingart and James Keranen, with faculty advisor Madylon Meiling. The plan proposed storm water pollutant removal and alert system for networked citywide storm drains. EVO Fuels, second place. Mark Lemos of UNR with faculty advisor John Cushman proposed a biofuel and carbon emission solutions company based on microalgae. EVO Fuels also won the undergraduate Lt. Governor’s Award. ME3-carGLOW, third place. Team members from UNR are Robert Terhune, Mindi Casey, Doug Eckery, Heather Malson, Shunsuke Otani, and Daniel Traut, with faculty advisor Bill Avery. The plan proposed effective but simple lighting for car-top cargo carriers.
Graduate winners were: NanoVation Inc., first place. Team members from UNR are Rashi Tiwari, Yvonne Dang, Sang Mun Kim, Alex Vanderhoff, and Kaustav Sinha, with faculty advisor Kwang Kim. The plan proposed an energy harvester to convert ambient energy into a usable electrical signal. NanoVation Inc. also won the graduate Lt. Governor’s Award. Samsara Interactive, Inc., second place. Team members from UNR are David Carr, Juan Quiroz, Ben Menesini, Austin Stanhope And Mark Harmer, with faculty advisor Sushil Louis. The plan proposed an online real-time strategy game that will generate and display in-game advertising. Simply Healthy Food, third place. Team members from UNR are Abbey Smith and Melissa Voigtmann, with faculty advisor Edward Lenert. The plan proposed an online marketplace for sustainably produced, local food.
