June 10th, 2009
Entrepreneurship Grads Take Category Prizes in Governor’s Business Plan Competition
Three alumni of the Wisconsin MBA’s Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship have placed in the prestigious Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Competition. Directed by the Wisconsin Technology Council for the past six years, the competition encourages entrepreneurs in the creation, start-up and early-growth stages of high-tech businesses in Wisconsin.
This year, a record 326 entries from 287 individuals in 106 different locales around the state competed for a total of more than $200,000 in cash and in-kind prizes. On June 9, a Grand Prize of $50,000 in cash and services was awarded to Hartland, Wis.-based Eso- Technologies, a start-up company that has developed a monitoring device to reduce the risk of heart attacks for people undergoing surgery. In addition, several category winners were announced for plans contributing to Advanced Manufacturing, Business Services, Information Technology and Life Sciences.
The following Weinert Center graduates were among those selected as category winners for 2009:
NxtMile Custom Running Shoes, a plan presented by Michael Miller (MBA 2008), took top prize in the Advanced Manufacturing category. Miller’s shoes utilize proprietary pressure-mapping technology and are engineered and custom assembled to address the specific biomechanical and orthopedic needs of over-40 and experienced runners, helping them to prevent injury.
Placing second in the category of Business Services was software-intensive firm Sandbox International LLC, founded by Scott Daigger (BBA 2002, MBA 2007) and Todd Wendrick (MBA 2007). Sandbox has developed a proprietary web application to help market researchers identify creative individuals to participate in consumer co-creation initiatives.
Kyle Montgomery, a 2006 graduate of the Weinert Center, came in third in the Life Sciences category for his AquaMost plan. AquaMost wants to commercialize a novel, advanced water treatment technology called photoelectrocatalytic oxidation, which efficiently and economically destroys water-borne pathogens and pollutants.
Click here for more information on the 2009 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Competition and conference.