olin cup entrepreneurship competition

HarringtonThe uncertain economy of the last few years has some wondering if American innovation and ingenuity is in decline, but not Kenneth Harrington and Robert Skandalaris. Harrington, director of the Skandalaris Entrepreneurship Program at the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis and Skandalaris, founder and Chairman of Noble International Ltd, are collaborating on a book on entrepreneurship and find it alive and well. But in a recent article, they caution that “people, organizations, institutions, and governments that don’t have a strategy to lead in entrepreneurial innovation will be displaced or at serious risk of becoming obsolete.” The Washington University business school launches its 2004 Olin Cup Entrepreneurship Competition this month with special events, speakers, and workshops. Washington University recently received a major grant from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to expand entrepreneurship education campus-wide.

Washington University in St. Louis will launch its 2004 Olin Cup Entrepreneurship Competition with kickoff events on April 1 and April 13 on the Washington University Hilltop and Medical campuses. The Olin Cup Kickoff events are free and open to the public. Washington University’s Skandalaris Entrepreneurship Program sponsors the Olin Cup Competition, that later this year will award a total of $70,000 in seed investment to the winners. Throughout the year, the Competition will hold over 50 workshops and other events, to promote learning, collaboration, and team formation. The events contribute to the goal of the Competition, to support the creation of new ventures.

The John M. Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis has awarded a total of $70,000 in seed investment capital to two startup businesses in its annual Olin Cup entrepreneurship competition. The Olin Cup competition was launched last year with a new emphasis on life sciences, medicine, and technology startups, as well as other student started ventures. The business school’s Skandalaris Entrepreneurship Program sponsors the annual competition. This is the first time seed funding was awarded in the entrepreneurship contest.