2006 Spirit of Enterprise Winners

Student teams from 12 universities competed in the three challenging rounds of the 2006 UC Spirit of Enterprise Competition. The Cincom Spirit of Enterprise Champions received $10,000 from Cincom and an automatic bid to the 2006 MOOT CORP Competition often called "The Super Bowl of World Business-Plan Competitions." Held at the University of Texas, Austin, MOOT CORP is the original intercollegiate new-venture competition offering the largest guaranteed prize of any student contest in the world. Prize money was also awarded to the second- and third-place winners and to the recipient of the best technology plan.

“The competition’s rewards reach far beyond monetary value,” said Charles H. Matthews, executive director of UC’s Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research and a professor of entrepreneurship and strategic management in the College of Business. “Participants receive invaluable assessments and critiques from distinguished judges, as well as practice in competing against students from other universities.”

Teams not advancing to finals entered the UC taxi/limo round. The 10-minute ride mirrored a chance encounter with a potential angel investor. The top team to convince the investor of their business plan’s viability before the ride comes to a halt was awarded a cash prize.

2006 UC Spirit of Enterprise Winners
 
Best Technology Award $1,000
(Sponsored by Fort Washington Partners Capital Group)
 
Winner: Carnegie Mellon University
Faculty Advisor: Thomas Hajduk
Team Members: Ernest Braxton, Adam Lichtl
Business Plan: NeuroLife
Concept Focus: Noninvasive Neurosurgical Technology

Taxi/Limo Round Award $1,000
(Sponsored by Blue Chip Venture Company)
 
Winner: Wake Forest University
Faculty Advisor: Charles Iacovou
Team Members: Mark Hendrickson, Josh Schwartz
Business Plan: AudioFusion, Inc.
Concept Focus: Medical Technology
 
Championship Round Awards
 
Third Runner-Up Championship Round Award $500

Winner: University of Georgia
Faculty Advisor: Charles Hofer
Team Members: Nick Campbell, Travis Walker, Cooper Butler
Business Plan: FSDashboard
Concept Focus: Fantasy Sports Management

Second Runner-Up Queen City Angels First Fund Award $2,000
(Sponsored by the Queen City Angels First Fund)
 
Winner: University of Cincinnati
Faculty Advisor: Charles H. Matthews
Team Members: Ahmed Shuja, Srinivas Parimi, Dennis Delvin, Ibraham El Rahi, Michael Finn
Business Plan: Progressive Cooling Solutions, LLC
Concept Focus: Heat Emission Cooling Technology

First Runner-Up Championship Round Award $3,500
 
Winner: Carnegie Mellon University
Faculty Advisor: Thomas Hajduk
Team Members: Ernest Braxton, Adam Lichtl
Business Plan: NeuroLife
Concept Focus: Noninvasive Neurosurgical Technology
 
Cincom Systems Spirit of Enterprise Champion Award $10,000
(Sponsored by Cincom Systems, Inc.)
Thomas M. Nies
Founder, President & CEO, Cincom Systems, Inc.
 
Champion: University of Illinois – Chicago
Faculty Advisor: Rod Shrader
Team Members: James Hogan, Caralynn V. Nowinski, Chirag V. Patel
Business Plan: Sano Gene Therapeutics
Concept Focus: Cancer Care
 
The champion also receives an automatic bid to the MOOT Corp Business Plan Competition and was treated to a limo ride at the end of the competition to celebrate their success.
 
Many thanks to the following folks who served as judges in the UC Spirit of Enterprise MBA Business Plan Competition:
 
Preliminary round judges: Rob Heimann, River Cities Capital Funds, Jennifer Wolfe, The Wolfe Practice, LPA; Jim Cunningham, The Circuit and C-Cap; Paul Cashen, DaytaOhio; Mark Richey, Draper Triangle Ventures; Myrita Craig, Small Business, Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce; Pat Longo, Hamilton County Business Center; Rea Waldon, PNC Bank; and Dave Willbrand, Thompson Hine, LLP.
 
Championship round judges: John Habbert, Queen City Angels; John A. Kraeutler, Meridian Bioscience; Maribeth Rahe, Ft. Washington Capital Partners Group; and Doug Roberts, Thompson Hine LLP.
 
Taxi/Limo round judge: Ashley Kohnen, Blue Chip Venture Company
 
Best Technology Award judges: Julia Ossipov-Grodsky and Steve Baker, Fort Washington Capital Partners.

About the UC Center for Entrepreneurship Education and Research (E-Center)
Founded in 1997 by Dr. Charles H. Matthews, the E-Center’s vision and mission is to provide a state-of-the-art entrepreneurship curriculum and research base not only for potential student entrepreneurs and scholars, but also for people in the many organizations that interact with small, entrepreneurial and family-owned businesses on a daily basis. The University of Cincinnati has been ranked as one of the top 50 programs for entrepreneurship in the U.S. by Success magazine and one of the top regional programs in the U.S. (Entrepreneur Magazine) in 2003, 2004 and 2005.

About Cincom
For nearly 40 years, Cincom's software and services have helped thousands of clients worldwide simplify the management of complex business processes. Cincom specializes in the five areas of business where simplification brings the greatest value to managers who want to grow revenue, control costs, minimize risk and achieve rapid ROI better than their competitors.

For More Information:
Charles H. Matthews, Ph.D.
Director, UC Center for Entrepreneurship Education & Research
Professor of Entrepreneurship & Strategic Management
College of Business
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH  45221-0165
Phone: 513-556-7123
Fax:513-556-4891
Email: charles.matthews@uc.edu