UO students vie for “Venture Quest” business plan championship

EUGENE, Ore. -- (Dec. 3, 2009) -- Entrepreneurial MBA business students at the University of Oregon will present their venture concepts and vie for awards at the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship's "Venture Quest" business plan competition beginning at 9 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 4, in room 211 and 232 of the Lillis Business Complex, 955 E. 13th Ave. The event is free and open to the public. The awards will be presented at 3:15 p.m. the same day.

The competition will feature seven teams of MBA, MAcc and JD/MBA students from the UO Charles H. Lundquist College of Business. Technology-based innovations include a pharmaceutical monitoring system, casino gaming tutorial, sports participants' integrated ticketing/reward card, and genetically engineered mice for use in cancer research. Other venture concepts include "green" real estate development focusing on green building and renewable energy, a sports performance product, and a health-conscious quick-service restaurant concept.

In the morning semi-finals, each team will give a 15-minute presentation of its venture plan to a judging panel of top northwest business professionals. Following the presentation, each team will face a "live fire" 15-minute question-and-answer session during which members must further clarify and defend their plan.

Teams are judged on the viability of their ventures, the quality of their plans and presentations, and the team's ability to handle the judges' inquiries effectively. Winners of each morning flight will advance to the afternoon finals with a 60-second Elevator Pitch competition between the second place finishers determining the third team to advance. All teams making it to the finals round will receive cash prizes.

About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of the 62 leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.

Contact: Julie Brown, 541-346-3185, julbrown@uoregon.edu
Source: Terry Sebastian, 541-346-3483, terrys@lcbmail.uoregon.edu
Link: www.lcb.uoregon.edu/lce

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