Date: Apr 26, 2012 Author: Jan Norman Source: Orange County Register (
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A growing number of colleges nationwide sponsor business plan competitions to introduce their students and faculty to the creation and funding process of entrepreneurial ventures.
Now Chapman University in Orange is taking the competition to the next level. April 27-28, the university will host winning business teams from 19 universities in the California Dreamin' Business Plan Competition with $100,000 in prize money plus the opportunity to secure equity investors.
The super business plan competition is the brainchild of Richard Sudek, director of Chapman's Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Ethics.
The public can attend teams' pitches to professional investor judges at 9 a.m. April 28 in Beckman Hall Room 404. Finals will be at 2 p.m. The winner will receive $50,000 cash, second place $30,000 and third place $20,000.
Teams may also secure up to $1 million in start-up funding from professional investors in Tech Coast Angels, Bank of Angels, Kay Family Foundation, Golden Seeds, Amazon Web Services and Garage Technology Ventures that are sponsors of the competition.
Participating universities in the first California Dreamin' contest are UC campuses in Los Angeles, Irvine, Berkeley, San Diego and Santa Barbara; Cal Tech; USC; Cal State Fullerton; Claremont McKenna; Loyola Marymount University; University of Utah, University of Houston, Oklahoma State University, Brigham Young University, University of Arizona, University of Oklahoma and Chapman University.
Among the competitors:
AutoBid, Brigham Young University
Chai, Cal Tech
SweetRewards, Chapman, loyalty rewards programs for retailers
Erebos Games, Claremont McKenna College
Astral Infinity, Cal State Fullerton, solar powered unmanned airplane
OmniCrutch, Loyola Marymount U., next-generation crutches
CleanNG, Oklahoma State U., advanced performance products for natural gas vehicles
NanoMed, U. of Oklahoma, targeted drug delivery system
Traverie, UC Berkeley, interactive travel magazine
Alicanto Pisco, UCLA, craft liquor
Spinnergy, UC Santa Barbara, energy storage device
Nasseo, UC San Diego, treatment for dental/orthopedic implant failures
The Inertia, USC, online community for action sports
Advanced Armor Applications, U. of Arizona, light-weight armor technology
Unlimiters, U. of Houston, online retailer for the physically impaired
Emrid Technologies, U. of Utah, software to increase security and convenience of mobile apps
