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Students Face-Off in Business Plan Competition

April 16, 2008

From high-tech running shoes and rooftop gardens to solar-powered camp lighting and social networking software for cell phones, students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are pursuing solutions to everyday problems.

Forty-four students in 17 teams presented their original business plans and competed for a shot at $23,000 in prize money in the G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition. The competition was held Friday, April 18 in Grainger Hall.

“Entrepreneurship leads to innovation — it answers questions and provides solutions,” said Anne Miner, professor in the Wisconsin School of Business and director of the competition. “This event provides students the opportunity to come together and develop the next generation of innovative business ideas.”

New this year, eligible entries included both high-technology businesses and ideas for companies where technology doesn’t play a vital role. Interest in “social entrepreneurship” continues to increase, with five of this year’s teams addressing pressing environmental or community needs.

Entries in the 2008 contest included business plans for:

• A mechanical device to help people with impairments or disabilities tie their shoes
• A pen that improves cognition
• A device for organizing keys
• A web-based service for owners of hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles

Judging the competition this year were: Pehr Anderson, an acquisitions advisor at Metavante; Mary Burke, former director of the Wisconsin Department of Commerce; Erica Kauten, former director of the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs Network; and John Neis, managing partner of Venture Investors.

Since its inception in 1998, nearly 300 students have participated in the competition, while thousands have attended skill-building seminars to develop their business-planning expertise.

The competition is named for sponsor G. Steven Burrill, a longtime supporter of student innovation and entrepreneurship. Burrill is CEO of Burrill & Company, a life sciences merchant bank with more than $950 million under management. He earned a BBA degree from the Wisconsin School of Business in 1966.