First Annual CSU Business Plan Competition Great Success!

May 4, 2012 - PRLog -- Thursday, April 12, 2012 eleven student teams and about 40 community members gathered for some entrepreneurial magic at the CCSU Institute for Technology and Business Development (ITBD). At the end of the evening four teams had won prizes including two teams from CCSU. ElderCareCompare.com, led by Entrepreneurship student Christopher Meller, won the $1,500 Connecticut Innovations Technology Prize for their concept of providing an online meeting, brokering and management tool for the relationships between care providers and the elderly who wish to age at home. Kinai Taste Flavorings, led by Graphic Design student Judith Cossette, won the Grand Prize (Sponsored by TDBank North, Northeast Utilities/CL&P, Stanley/Black & Decker, and Updike, Kelley and Spellacy) for their plan to produce and sell healthy, liquid flavor packets for hospital-patient ice chips. The Grand Prize includes one year rent paid at the ITBD, $11,000 seed capital and a bundle of professional services.

From SCSU, Haven Docu-Services won the $500 Walker Group/reSET Social Enterprise award with their concept for a document storage and shredding business partnering with Chapel Haven to provide employment for autistic adults. Petal Post won the $1,000 MetroHartford Alliance First Place prize for their plan to manufacture and distribute a fence-post topper that doubles as a flower pot.

Conceived by CCSU Executive Assistant to the President Rick Mullins and designed and administered CCSU School of Business Professor Drew Harris and ITBD Community Business Development Specialist Jan Deveau, the competition is intended to encourage more classroom-to-real-life connections and to put at least one team on the road to a successful business launch. As Board of Regents President Robert Kennedy commented in his remarks at the event: “This is exactly the kind of activity we want to see in the ConnSCU [Connecticut State College and University) system. We want our institutions to become engines of innovation and economic growth.” The winners are pretty sure this is a good idea, too!