Five Teams Of Entrepreneurs To Compete In IdeaPitch Final

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (April 29, 2008) – The inaugural Penn State IdeaPitch Competition comes to a close on April 30 as five business ideas—from mass-produced fresh sushi to a new building material—go before a panel of judges.

More than 30 teams registered for the competition, which is sponsored by the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Penn State's Smeal College of Business and Ben Franklin Technology Partners.

The five remaining teams, which already made it through one round of competition, will be judged based on idea viability, profitability, and their business models. They'll make their final pitches before the judges at 5 p.m. in room 4 of Smeal's Business Building. The event is free and open to the public.

Ideas were submitted from all over the Penn State community. Teams of students, faculty, and staff initially proposed ideas ranging from a recreation center to a new restaurant to a grocery delivery service. And the final five run the gamut from food service to Web-based technologies.

One of the final teams, Sushi Tokyo, is a sushi lunch box distribution business based out of Lansdale, Pa. The company has a central manufacturing base that produces sushi lunch boxes for various organizations, such as corporate and institutional cafeterias.

MG Walls is a team that seeks to manufacture, market, and distribute a superior synthetic wall board that will compete with drywall or gypsum board.

Vizion loGIStics, proposes using GIS (geographic information systems) technology to help large institutions, government agencies, and insurance companies in strategic planning, space utilization, and asset inventory.

The other two teams have ideas for new Web services. One is a Web site designed for college students that would provide them with news articles relevant to their course of study or interests. Another team is putting forth a Web site that would manage lost and found for large institutions, connecting those who lost property with those who found it to negotiate a return.

Each of the final proposals must include a description of the product or service itself, its market and potential competitors, and its customers. Teams must also include a business model to tell investors how much it will cost and how long it will take to get their idea into the marketplace and generating revenue. Finally, the business proposals should include a description of the firm's management team, gaps in leadership, a financial account of where the firm now stands, and details describing how backers can expect to get a return on their investment.

The contest was designed by Anthony Warren, director of the Farrell Center, to allow budding entrepreneurs to form their teams across Penn State via a social networking portal. The contest also gives teams access to the tools, skills, and resources necessary to successfully pitch their ideas to investors, while providing exposure to potential backers.

"The competition itself was crafted so that it provided a learning process for all of the teams who submitted ideas," Warren says. "Every participant was offered expert feedback on their ideas, business proposals, and pitches. For the winners, there will be resources available to take their ideas further, should they so wish."

The top three teams will share the $1,000 prize money and will be offered other assistance to move their ideas forward. The winning team will be eligible to participate in the Garber Practicum and potentially receive funding from the $5 million Garber Venture Capital Fund, a venture fund managed by Smeal MBA students. If patenting is necessary for the winning pitch to move toward fruition, initial legal fees or advice will be provided to the winning team. Additionally, if a Penn State undergraduate is a member of the winning team, the team will be eligible for office space and assistance from Lion Launch Pad, a nonprofit business accelerator exclusively for Penn State undergrads.

For more complete details on the Penn State Idea Pitch Competition, visit ideapitch.smeal.psu.edu.