"tis the season for business plan competitions!
Here are the winners of Florida Atlantic University's competition, a two-day event that concluded Friday. Congratulations!
2012 FAU Business Plan Competition Cash and Prizes
Elevator Pitch People’s Choice Award - Office Depot
Cash Prize $5,000
Winner: U-Fashion
High School Track
Scholarship Fund $25,000 (must be eligible)
Winner: Beforeyouturnitin.com
FAU Student & Entrepreneur Tracks
3rd Place 3,000 Total Award is $5,716
FAU Student Track Winner: Turning Point
Entrepreneur Track Winner: Bimotics
2nd Place $8,000 Total Award is $15,716
FAU Student Track Winner: Metro Go Corporation
Entrepreneur Track Winner: ShowCode
Also the Tech Award Winner, $5,000 in-kind service from Business Growth Advisors
1st Place $15,000 Total Award is $94,216
FAU Student Track Winner: Owl Educational Web Services
Entrepreneur Track Winner: SwitchMyBooks.com
From FAU: Florida Atlantic University’s Adams Center for Entrepreneurship and the College of Business, along with the Research Park at Florida Atlantic University, recently hosted the 2012 FAU Business Plan Competition in which 21 teams comprised of FAU students, members of the business community, alumni and, for the first time, local high school students competed for a share of more than $200,000 in cash and prizes. The high school student track winner’s prize also included a full four-year scholarship to FAU.
More than 300 guests attended the competition, which provided an opportunity for participants to compete and test their business ideas. More than 215 teams registered for the competition, up from 167 last year, while 20 advanced to the final round events. Teams submitted their plans in one of three categories: the Entrepreneur Track, which was designated for alumni and members of the business community-at-large; the Student Track, which was open to current FAU students only; and the High School track, which was open to local junior and senior high school students.
The high school track winner and four-year scholarship of the competition was Austin Tedesco for his prototype, beforeyouturnitin.com, a reliable, accurate, and affordable proofreading service for high school students. Tedesco is a junior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
The student track winner of the competition and $15,000 in cash and prizes was FAU student Neil Parsont for his prototype Owl Educational Web Services, an online tutor-student matchmaking service. The company's business model allows direct communication between students and tutors simplifying the existing processes used by competitors which block communication.
The entrepreneur track winners of the competition and $15,000 in cash and prizes were Jose Christiansen, Mark Fredericks and David Fredericks for their prototype SwitchMyBooks.com, a website created to help students save money on their textbooks by creating a listing service where they can buy, sell and exchange their college books.