Bard Center for Entrepreneurship

Business Plan Competition 

 

 

OLOMOMO NUT COMPANY WINS!

 

OLOMOMO NUT COMPANY

Justin Perkins, Peter Genuardi

Olomomo Nut Company aspires to be the foremost high-end, all natural and organic nut brand with its kettle-roasted nuts, coated with original and unexpected exotic spice and flavor blends.  Olomomo will initially distribute through specialty coffee shops across America to conscious consumers who crave quality, delicious, high- protein, socially responsible products. Olomomo Nut Company

 

Second Place

THE ORGANIC DISH

Beckie and Toby Hemmerling

The Organic Dish makes pre-assembled, frozen meals using organic and farm-fresh ingredients for busy families and professionals.  Customers may either buy meals at The Organic Dish’s kitchen in Boulder, or order online with an option for home or office delivery within the Denver Metro area.  The Company will focus on catering to individuals and families who struggle to balance healthy eating at home and work with busy lives. The Organic Dish

Third Place and Best Bioscience Prize

VIBRALUNG, INC.

Art Hughes, Jim Medford, Jon Wallace

VibraLung, Inc. is a biomedical device company with a proprietary airway clearance device for treating patients with phlegm producing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  Their product, VibraLung Advanced Acoustic Airway Clearance Percussor, will aid in phlegm removal, and thus mitigate both secondary infections and primary disease progression. VibraLung, Inc.

FInalists

ALSO ENERGY

Robert Schaefer, Holden Caine

Also Energy develops and maintains portfolios of mini solar electricity utilities for a target market of building owners and occupants in Colorado.  Their first portfolio, Solar Power Pack One, consists of one megawatt of photovoltaic systems installed in Colorado.  The customers pay for the electricity the system generates while Also Energy partners with Colorado electric integrators for design and installation, and performs system maintenance. Also Energy

GLOBAL CAFÉNATION & Nonprofit Award: Sponsored by the Ward Family

Jake Sager, Nichole Parker

Global CafeNation seeks to provide a sustainable solution to alleviate poverty and stimulate economic development in Tanzania through the direct trade of Tanzanian coffee and artisan goods in the United States.  Profits from the sale of these products will compensate coffee growers and artisans, as well as sponsor children through secondary education in Tanzania.

WESTERN STATES BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

Michael J. Reilly, Carl K. Edwards, PhD

Western States Biopharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the treatment of inflammatory diseases.  Through the development of novel drug therapies, the Company has created a treatment that blocks the part of the immune system attacking the body while also allowing the body to fight infection.  Western States Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.

 

We’re growing our Business Plan Competition – more prizes, more special award categories, & open to more people. The Bard Center solicits the best business plans from community members as well as faculty, staff, students, alumni, at all colleges & universities in Colorado. You do not need to be a college graduate to compete. Executive summaries are due on April 16, 2009. The top 20 businesses will be asked to submit full business plans by May 7, 2009. We’ll be hosting special seminars all spring to help you refine your business plan.

The Bard Center Business Plan Competition—the premier academic business plan competition in Colorado—seeks to promote the development of high-caliber business plans, recognize the most outstanding plans with cash and in-kind awards from area businesses, and encourage the creation of new businesses.  Over the years the Business Plan Competition has grown from a smaller University of Colorado Denver focused event to a statewide competition that includes plans from throughout Colorado. Historically cash and in-kind awards totaling nearly $100,000 have been awarded annually. This year the competition is moving to new a level, increasing prize awards and categories of prizes.

The six best aspiring entrepreneurs and their teams are chosen among all of the applicants to compete in a public competition. The Bard Center Business Plan Competition seeks to promote the creation and development of high caliber businesses by recognizing the most outstanding plans for early stage Colorado Companies with cash and in-kind awards from area businesses.

 

"As an aspiring entrepreneur going through the MBA program at UC Denver, the Bard Center gave birth to my second career and life. Not only did the Bard Center provide the tools and knowledge to become a successful entrepreneur, it also provided a great launch pad for my business concept, MetroBoom. Participating in the 2004 Bard Center Annual Business Plan Competition changed everything for me. Winning the first place honor served as "the wind behind the sail" my business concept needed for an ideal launch. The cash prize of $10,000 combined with over $15,000 worth of donated services from in-kind sponsors were extremely valuable resources. All the press and exposure I received from winning the competition gave MetroBoom the right type of attention and credibility it needed as a start-up. The Bard Center was also a great source for networking. I have met intelligent, motivated, and caring entrepreneurs and supporters of entrepreneurship. Without the help from the people I met through the Bard Center, it would not have been possible for me to launch MetroBoom. And, the support hasn't slowed down since my business opened. The networking opportunities still provide me with great sources for business leads and knowledge. The administrators, faculty members, students, board members, and alumnae provide immense amount of support for MetroBoom. They all serve as our ambassadors. The financial, emotional, and functional support from Bard Center motivates young entrepreneurs like myself to take the leap of faith into entrepreneurship with confidence and pride."

—Jung Park, MetroBoom, 2004 Business Plan Winner