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If you have further questions please contact Larae Hackney: Phone: 406-243-4830 Platinum Sponsors ($2,500+): City Brew Coffee George C. Dodge Foundation Huse Law Office, P.C. Pyron Technologies Jeff Shay-Poe Professor Surgical Principles, Inc. Ken & Carol Thuerbach University of Montana Office of the President Gold Sponsors ($1,000+): Allied Waste Systems Anderson ZurMuehlen Bank of Montana Big Sky Brewing Company Broadway Inn Campus Inn First Security Bank of Missoula Frontier Angel Fund Glacier Venture Fund - John Marchi Governor's Office of Economic Development Hilton Garden Inn Missoula Federal Credit Union Montana Board of Investments Mountain West Bank NorthWestern Energy
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| 2008 John Ruffatto Business Plan Competition |
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For this year’s competition faculty from Montana-based higher education institutions identified twenty-three teams with viable business ventures and had their students submit business plans for the competition. A distinguished group of six judges met on April 27, 2008 and selected fifteen teams that were invited to compete in the Semifinal Round in Missoula. Ten of the teams were assigned to the High Growth Potential Division while the remaining five teams competed in the Lifestyle Business Division. The prestigious panel of twenty-six judges consisted of venture capitalists, angel investors, bankers, successful entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and represented a wide spectrum of professional expertise. The judging panel included former senior corporate executives from companies such as ALLTEL, Bausch & Lomb, D.A. Davidson, Dial Corporation, First Citizen’s Bank, Merck, Microsoft, Nortel, Overstock.com, Starbucks, and 3Com as well as founders of organizations such as Big Sky Brewing, Benchmark Simulations, City Brew Coffee, Freedom Bank, Frontier Angel Fund, Glacier Venture Fund, Montana Business Capital Corporation, Rocky Mountain Venture Capital, Treasure State Bank, and Verisoft.
This year for the first time, the competition kicked off with an Elevator Pitch competition. Each team was allowed only one slide and three minutes to explain the key points of their business plans and sell the idea to the judges. The event was won by a team of undergraduates from the University of Montana, Fitted4, presented by Jenelle Winters (Shown below left with teammate Shelia Dass).
In the High Growth Divisions,
Dirigente and E & E
Enterprises won their respective divisions in the early
morning round and automatically advanced to the Finalist
Round. Dirigente's business plan
custom tailored professional
apparel to first-time purchasers, such as college students
and recent graduates.
E & E's plan is a carbon sequestration
project in Billings, Montana, which will serve to decrease
the amount of green house gasses emitted in into the
atmosphere.
Pictured: Hannah Reno and Haley Clark from E & Enterprises Meanwhile The Green House, Busy Bee Enterprises, OpenYourHouses.com and Time4Change, Inc. placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in each of their respective High Growth Divisions and were provided one more opportunity to pitch their business plans to the judges in the Wildcard Round. The Green House plans to provide sustainable building materials, renewable energy systems, household equipment and supplies, energy efficiency audits, and consultation, to customers and builders involved with remodeling and new construction projects, in residential and commercial markets. an online social networking website for health and fitness professionals and their clients. Busy Bee Enterprises is a company that provides GPS tracking devices and internet accessible tracking for beekeeper’s equipment and colonies. OpenYourHouses.com plans to reinvigorate the open house event as an effective marketing tool for real estate seller agents via providing a highly functional and professional online venue for advertising upcoming open houses. Time4Change, Inc.'s provides purified bottled drinking water and selects a different charity each month, to which it donates 30% of all proceeds. Each of these teams was competing for the third and final spot in the High Growth Division's Final Round. The Green House emerged as the winner of the Wildcard Round and advanced to the Finals.
Pictured: Patrick Collins from Time4Change In the Lifestyle Division Verde Foods was declared the winner during the morning presentations and Property Resources placed second. Verde Foods, a business plan for a venue offering pre-cooked organic meals at convenient locations in Missoula, Montana, also advanced to the evening presentation round for the finalist teams. After thirteen hours of competing, the event concluded with an awards presentation. Competition Director Dr. Jeff Shay remarked, "It's a long day for the students, the judges, and the army of staff and student workers that we have involved with the competition. But it is all worth it to see the learning opportunities that have been provided today. It's a very special competition given the nature of Montana's entrepreneurial economy. I know will see several of these students as business leaders down the road. We really appreciate how the community comes together for this event. There are similar competitions across the country that don't receive nearly the sponsorship and judging support that we do." Here is a complete list of the awards. Special thanks to Luke George (www.lukegeorge.com) for photographing the event: Lifestyle Division: 1st Place - $5,000 Business Name: Verde Foods Team: Kate Meining, Morgan Halvorson, Ariane Osorio and Brian Smith
Pictured: Morgan Halvorson, Ariane Osorio, Kate Meining, Larry Gianchetta
2nd Place - $1,000 Business Name: Property Resources Team: Erin Hamilton, Briana Gilbertson and Sabrina Bakich
Pictured: Briana Gilbertson, Erin Hamilton and Larry Gianchetta
High Growth Division 1st Place - $10,000 Business Name: Dirigente Team: Matthew Bagley and Moneesha Johnson
Pictured: Matthew Bagley, Moneesha Johnson and Larry Gianchetta
2nd Place - $5,000 Business Name: The Green House Team: Karli Vold, Aaron Blatt, John Ortstadt and John Klaboe
Pictured: John Ortstadt, Aaron Blatt, Karli Vold, Larry Gianchetta and John Klaboe
3rd Place - $3,000 Business Name: E & E Enterprises Team: Hannah Reno and Haley Clark
Pictured: Haley Clark, Hannah Reno and Larry Gianchetta
People’s Choice Award - $1,000 Business Name: The Green House Team: Karli Vold, Aaron Blatt, John Ortstadt and John Klaboe
Pictured: John Klaboe, John Ortstadt and Karli Vold
Brandon Speth Award - $1,000 Patrick Collins
Pictured: Patrick Collins
Top 3 Undergraduate Awards 1st Place - $1,500 Business Name: E & E Enterprises Team: Hannah Reno and Haley Clark
Pictured: Haley Clark and Hannah Reno
2nd Place - $1,000 Business Name: Busy Bee Enterprises Team: Kenneth Cook
Pictured: Kenneth Cook
3rd Place - $500 Business Name: Fitted4 Team: Chelsea Roy, Jenelle Winters, Elissa Looney and Sheila Dass
Pictured: Chelsea Roy, Jenelle Winters, Sheila Dass and Elissa Looney
Best MBA Plan - $1,500 Business Name: Dirigente
Team: Matthew Bagley and Moneesha Johnson |
