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The competition is keen. The stakes are real. And so are the pre-presentation nerves. Yet what may have seemed like the longest fifteen minutes of their lives also were among the most significant for the student entrepreneurs who presented their business plans to the panel of distinguished judges assembled for the 2006 Howard J. Leonhardt New Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition this past spring. Participants had been preparing and polishing their plans for several months leading up to the actual events. The semi-final round of presentations was held on Wednesday, May 5, 2006, at the University Park Campus, with nearly 150 team members, judges, and supporters attending. The candidates were then whittled down to the final five graduate and five undergraduate teams, who presented at the final oral presentation round on Tuesday, May 16, 2006, also at the university. Close to fifty attendees were there to cheer them on.
Competition prepares students for the rigorous world of business. Hosted by the Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center, the annual New Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition is open to all upper-division undergraduate and graduate students who are currently enrolled or recently graduated. The business ideas must be for an original seed-funded, start-up venture. The teams that win the grand prizes receive as much as $15,000 in cash prizes and in-kind contributions to help fund their new businesses. To help students prepare for the New Venture Challenge, the College of Business Administration, in conjunction with the Pino Center, offers entrepreneurship classes plus a series of free workshops that run in tandem with the competition. Students learn how to pitch an idea, uncover market niches, write a business plan, and then present it convincingly. Along the way, the young entrepreneurs get a feel for the demanding, competitive environment they are preparing to enter. “I’ve been wearing red boots for over a decade at business plan competitions like this as a reminder to students that it can get bloody in the real world,” said Alan L. Carsrud, executive director of the Pino Center and clinical professor. “But I do try to have a little fun with them along the way.”
Clearly, the participating students are up for the challenge. “This is the third year in a row that I’ve been a New Venture Challenge judge,” said Noel J. Guillama, president and chief executive officer of The Quantum Group, a South Florida-based business that delivers health care solutions. “Each year the quality and level of professionalism gets better and better. It’s really a positive reflection of the quality of the program and the skills and maturity of the staff and administrators.” For more information on the 2006 Howard J. Leonhardt New Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition, plus details on the 2007 competition, visit nvc.fiu.edu or call 305-348-7156. In the spotlight: 2006 Howard J. Leonhardt New Venture Challenge winners embody quality and depth. The New Venture Challenge winners were announced at the 2006 Florida International University Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame luncheon, held on May 17 at The Parrot Jungle in Miami. This year, the following prizes were awarded:
Top winners share their insights into the competition. “Conceiving G-Force Tools was truly an ‘ah-ha’ moment for me,” said Alexis Nogueras (MBA ’06), who, as a powerful team of one, took home the graduate grand prize for his company. “Throughout my graduate program, I’ve remained committed to becoming an entrepreneur. This whole experience—developing my business plan and pitching my idea to judges with such impressive credentials—has given me the self-confidence to achieve my goals.” Winners of the undergraduate grand prize, the Phoenix Mentoring team saw this business plan program as an opportunity to grow their efforts into a sustainable non-profit organization. “The concept behind Phoenix Mentoring started a year or two ago as a community service project,” said team leader Starex Smith (BS ’05), now a student in the university’s Master of Public Administration program. “We are deeply committed to serving children in neighborhoods who might otherwise not get the chance to learn more about art, theater, and music, not to mention receive extra tutoring support for their regular school work.” Both Nogueras and Smith are grateful for the guidance and encouragement they received from the Pino Center staff supporting the New Venture Challenge. “Everyone at the Pino Center was always there for us, mentoring and motivating us every step of the way. They even helped us tap into college resources that we did not know were available,” Smith said. Nogueras is equally appreciative. “Dr. Carsrud kept telling me to move ahead, to believe in my project because it ‘had some legs on it,’” he said. “I don’t think I could have done it without the skills I acquired in my MBA program and the tremendous support from the Pino Center
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