Venture Contests

So this is a refreshing change: a venture competition you can participate in. You be the judge, really, in the Forbes.com $100K Boost Your Business contest to be decided next month. Yes, you do get a vote! And, better still,…

{ 0 comments }

I’m in New York today, looking forward to being one of the judges for the Forbes.com $100K Boost Your Business contest. Finals are today. As I start the day, I’ve been through all five of the plans, and it’s a…

{ 3 comments }

Finally! As more business venture competitions pop up, here’s the best take yet on determining a winner: Forbes.com’s Boost Your Business competition offers a $100K first place prize and — here’s where it gets interesting — asks the judges to…

{ 0 comments }

I’m sorry, that’s an old cliché, but the thing about clichés is that they so often become that because they hug the truth. Consider this quote, from Nate Alder of Klymit Technology. He’s talking about how his team approached venture…

{ 0 comments }

At lunch on Saturday, in the judges’ room, Jeff Mullin of Ropes and Gray, suggested I not rule out NeuroBank. “They’ve done a lot since the Rice competition,” he said. “They’ve got a waiting list now.” Jeff, however, is an…

{ 0 comments }

Things were going great until that moment. I was listening to a smart, articulate, and engaging MBA student at the Rice business plan competition last week, as he was presenting his pitch for a very intriguing science-based venture that would…

{ 0 comments }

I spent last Friday and Saturday in Portland as a semi-finals judge at the University of Oregon New Venture Championship (NVC). That means spending all day Friday listening to four teams, choosing one to go to the finals, and then…

{ 1 comment }

I encountered one surprise after another from all the scientists last Friday and Saturday in Houston, where I was one of more than 100 judges at the Rice University 2008 Business Plan Competition. Nobody seems to be matching stereotypes anymore….

{ 0 comments }