seed money

The field in the 2010 Olin Cup business plan competition was narrowed Nov. 18 as 21 semifinalists faced off in the elevator pitch stage of the race for entrepreneurs at Washington University in St. Louis. Six ventures were selected to advance to the final round of the annual contest that will award $75,000 to the most promising enterprise in February 2011.

Seven entrepreneurs enter the final round of the Olin Cup business plan competition this month as they vie for $75,000 in seed money. Ken Harrington, managing director of the Skandalaris Center, co-sponsor of the Olin Cup, emceed the recent “Elevator Pitch” event where 17 semi-finalists had two minutes each to present their business plans. The teams presented privately in front of 16 judges, then presented publicly in front of an audience. Harrington said, “the judges, audience, and I were very impressed with the quality of this year’s pitches and ideas. We look forward to the next phase in the competition and seeing their full business plans.” Winners will be announced in February. Video report on the competition included.

An on-line tutoring service and a device designed to make custom-fit earphones are the winners of the 2008 Olin Cup competition for entrepreneurs presented by the Olin Business School and Skandalaris Center at Washington University in St. Louis. The two winning companies, Virtual Nerd and Verto, emerged from an original field of 38 entrants to earn a $70,000 investment award and a $5000 cash prize respectively.

Entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in this year’s Olin Cup competition with $70,000 in seed money at stake. A record-breaking 38 teams entered the annual business formation contest operated by the Skandalaris Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Five finalists are now in the final stage of the competition which concludes with business plan presentations in January; winners will be announced Feb. 5, 2009.