business start-up

Two early-stage companies received commitments for funding at the annual Olin Cup awards ceremony Feb. 7 at the Olin Business School. The top award of $50,000 went to Is That One Good? (ITOG), a Web site (itog.com) that allows users to generate relevant, accurate product recommendations, hold meaningful discussion about the products and discover new […]

Release embargoed until 9 p.m. Feb. 7, 2008. Two student-owned business startups won the top honors at the Olin Cup Competition award ceremony Thursday, Feb. 7. The first place award of $50,000 went to Is That One Good? an internet web site where consumers can compare notes on goods and services. The second place, $25,000 prize went to MedExceed, a medical device company. The awards were announced at a ceremony on Feb. 7 at Washington University in St. Louis. Arnold W. Donald, former chairman of Merisant and current president and chief executive officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International was the keynote speaker.

Three early stage companies received commitments for funding and mentoring support at the annual Olin Cup Awards Ceremony Feb. 1. The top prize of $50,000 went to medical device company Neurolife. Two other companies received $20,000 in funding: Senetric, a company that developed software to reduce the cost of Radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor networks; and Smart DNA Solutions, a company that offers affordable genetic testing. The $5,000 student award went to Peter Braxton of Neurolife.

Entrepreneurs are just as sensitive to uncertainty as anyone. In fact, several studies suggest that entrepreneurs are more risk-averse than other people. So why do they risk losing their shirts by starting a business? They have an overdeveloped sense of confidence that that they can beat the odds, according to research from a business professor at Washington University in St. Louis.