Battle of the
Business Plans
Sixty-five Teams Compete for More Than $70,000
Posted March 8, 2000
Of the 182 entries submitted, 65 teams have been selected to compete in the second annual UC Berkeley Business Plan Competition.
More than 58 venture capitalists and entrepreneurs who served as judges selected business plans featuring streaming video, business-to-business commerce in China, broadband advertising, transmission of traffic conditions and commuters.
Demonstrating their commitment to the competition, more than 100 successful entrepreneurs and experts from venture capital and technology firms are actively involved in the event as mentors, judges and workshop presenters. They will help participating teams create and refine their business plans for final presentation in late April.
Access to venture capitalists and business leaders through the competition puts teams closer to obtaining funding. To date, seven of last year's teams have secured more than $35 million in venture funding.
"The UC Berkeley Business Plan was the catalyst for my team to formalize our idea," said Peter Macy, a first year MBA student at the Haas School of Business. "We are looking forward to the opportunities the competition affords us to work with local business leaders and top-tier Silicon Valley venture capitalists."
The competition builds on the strengths of local professionals and leading academic departments at Berkeley.
"My team consists of students not only from the Haas School of Business, but also from Electrical Engineering & Computer Sciences," said contest participant and second-year Haas MBA student David Gerster. "We are working together to build a new type of cost-per-click advertising solution. Leveraging our respective skills makes us a stronger team."
Eight of the 65 teams will be selected for the final round April 10. These teams will compete for $70,000 in cash and prizes, including a $50,000 first place award. Winners will be announced following public team presentations on April 28 and 29 at the business school.
The competition is a springboard for the campus's most innovative ideas and technologies, providing opportunity for students and alumni to create sustainable technology and life science business ventures.
Leading venture capitalist and technology firms supporting the competition include lead underwriter Sevin Rosen Funds as well as ComVentures, Hambrecht & Quist, Asia Pacific, Applied Communications and Synapta.
March 8-12, 2000
(Volume 28, Number 24)
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