Fort Worth, TX April 15, 2013
The third annual Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures™ Business Plan Competition (www.neeley.tcu.edu/vandv) brings college entrepreneurs from around the world to TCU to showcase their ideas for for-profit businesses that make money while making life better. Student teams from 28 universities will be on campus Friday and Saturday, April 19-20, in the Brown-Lupton University Union, to present their plans in front of 32 judges.
“This unique competition encourages students to start businesses that they really care about, but not traditional non-profits,” O. Homer Erekson, John V. Roach Dean of the Neeley School of Business, said. “We want students to show us for-profit enterprises that provide a social benefit as sustainable ventures. Another reason the competition is unique is that it is exclusive to undergraduate, not graduate, students, with the intention to help them fund and launch their companies.”
Values and Ventures Director Ann McDonald said that more than 40 business leaders will serve as judges and mentors, including business owners, CEOs, financiers, bankers and attorneys, to provide a solid base of knowledge about the viability of startup businesses. (Names of judges will not be disclosed until after the competition.)
All 28 teams, including one from the Neeley School of Business at TCU, will compete Friday, April 19, 8:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m., in five flights in front of panels of different judges. The top team from each flight will advance to the final competition on Saturday, along with the top team chosen from among the five second-place teams, determined by a lightning round 2:30-5:30 p.m. on Friday. Saturday, those top six teams will compete in front of a different panel of judges to determine the final cash-prize winners.
Prizes are $15,000 for first place, $10,000 second place, $5,000 third place, $1,000 each for third, fourth and fifth places and honorable mention. In addition, the team out of the original 28 with the most innovative energy-related concept will receive a $5,000 Energy Award, and the team that displays bold thinking and breakthrough ideas will receive a $5,000 Founders Award, named after Nancy T. Richards and Lisa Barrentine, Dallas-based real estate entrepreneurs who co-founded the competition with the Neeley School in 2010.
Universities participating in the 2013 Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures™ Business Plan Competition are:
U.S. Universities
Appalachian State University, Boone, N.C
Baylor University, Waco, Texas
Chapman University, Orange, Calif.
Christopher Newport University, Newport News, Va.
George Washington University, Washington D.C.
Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, Mich.
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Okla.
Regis University, Denver, Colo.
Samford University, Birmingham, Ala.
Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas
St. Mary’s University, San Antonio, Texas
Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y.
Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas
The University of Tampa, Tampa, Fla.
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark.
University of Florida, Gainesville, Fla.
University of Houston, Houston, Texas
University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
University of Oklahoma, Norman, Okla.
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, Wis.
Villanova University, Villanova, Pa.
Wake Forest, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Walsh University, North Canton, Ohio
International Universities
J.J. Strossmayer University Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
Monterrey Institute of Technology, Monterrey, Mexico
Royal Roads University, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland
Follow the two-day competition April 19-20:
Facebook
Twitter @NeeleySchoolTCU #tcuvv13
Livestream Awards Dinner www.neeley.tcu.edu/livestream beginning Saturday, April 20 at 7 p.m.www.facebook.com/neeleyschoolofbusinessattcu