The graduate Venture Quest business plan competition wrapped up today. Congratulations to this year’s winner Hawk Mobility Systems and runners-up Emerald Algae Solutions and Dynamic Advertising Solutions. The teams made it through a rigorous vetting process by a panel of investors and business professionals to take home cash prizes. Teams put in a ton of work over the course of the term and it showed. The presentations were fantastic.
Venture Quest is the culmination of fall term’s New Venture Planning course. Over the course of the term, students develop business plans to launch or grow a new business. In the beginning of the term, students form teams and pitch their ideas for startups. Many of the business ideas come out of the Technology Entrepreneurship Program that students in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship track worked on last summer. Other plans are based on existing businesses looking to grow or startup ideas that students are interested in developing. The next 9 weeks are spent exploring opportunities, researching market potential, developing financial plans, and putting together an investor presentation.
NVP is rigorous but rewarding. It’s like a business plan bootcamp. Teams develop their idea with the guidance of mentors from a variety of backgrounds and professional experiences. It’s amazing to look back on where the teams started and how far they have come in such a short amount of time. While Venture Quest marks the end of NVP, teams have the opportunity to continue working on their business plan in the winter and spring terms in Venture Startup. VSU has two tracks, a competition track and a venture launch track. Teams in the competition track submit their plans to business plan competitions across the country. In previous years, UO teams have attended competitions at Carnegie Mellon, University of Louisville, University of Manitoba, University of Texas, San Diego, and New Venture Challenge (NVC), UO’s own graduate business plan competition in Portland. This track is geared towards the teams that are looking for angel investors or venture capital funding. Teams in the venture launch track focus their energies on preparing to launch their business. Both tracks offer a unique experience for participants. It will be exciting to watch teams move forward and continue to bring their businesses to life.
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- Emerald Algae
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- Dynamic Advertising Solutions
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- Hawk Mobility Sytems
Emerald Algae
EAS is a bio-tech startup that is turning waste-water into liquid gold. Their process uses algae to clean food processing waste-water while producing value added commodities. Team: Jennifer Adams (MBA), Chris Canazaro (MBA), Rusten Gomez (JD/MBA), Jaren May (MBA)
Dynamic Advertising Solutions
DAS operates an online bidding platform for smaller advertisers entering the outdoor advertising market by lowering the minimum display time that an advertiser needs to purchase, which reduces the per unit cost. As a result, advertisers with relatively small budgets can afford to pay for advertising. Team: Kala Bernhardt (JD), Yasin Karim (PhD Physics), Brian Oehler (MBA), Ben Ryon (MBA)
Hawk Mobility Systems
Hawk Mobility Systems makes the Hawk Easy Lift – a simple, safe, and space-saving solution for moving patients. It is fully motorized and attaches directly to industry standard hospital-style beds allowing a single caregiver to lift and move a patient carefully in a home or institutional setting. Team: James Collins (MBA), Peter Philbrick (JD/MBA), Dan Richmond (MBA), Bryan Schoen (MBA)