Stu Clark Investment Competition gets underway
Update March 18: Students from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio won the $20,000 first place prize with their business pitch, Disease Diagnostics, which offers a new way to diagnose malaria that is already receiving interest from health authorities in malaria-affected regions.
Second place and $10,000 went to a team from Northwestern University in Chicago for Innoblative Designs, a breast cancer treatment technology; third place and $5,000 went to a team from University of Louisville for Systemica Health, a new technology to treat gum disease; and fourth place and $2,000 went to a team from the University of Manitoba for Exigence Technologies, an antimicrobial technology to deal with tough bacteria on hospital fabrics.
The 10th annual Stu Clark Investment Competition hosted by the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Asper School of Business will see 16 teams vie for over $40,000 in prizes during the competition. Teams will be judged on their idea pitch, company logo and formal business plan presentation.
Teams from the United States, Canada, and Thailand will compete for the first place prize of $20,000 and a berth to the 2014 Global Venture Labs Investment Competition at the University of Texas at Austin.
The University of Manitoba’s Asper School of Business has two MBA teams competing, Exigence Technologies and Don’t Be Skiddish, who was the winner at the 2013 Innovate Manitoba Pitch Day Competition.
Exigence Technologies has teamed up with U of M’s Technology Transfer Office and U of M researcher Dr. Song Lui to bring a new antimicrobial technology – a finish that kills bacteria for the life of the garment – to the North American textile industry, while Don’t Be Skiddish presents a solution to prevent truck and trailer wheel skids by utilizing magnetic sensor and Bluetooth technology.
Judges include 31 local business professionals, from a broad range of public and private sector organizations. In addition, University of Manitoba alum, donor, and competition namesake, Stu Clark, will be actively engaged throughout the weekend and will be judging the Championship Round.
“This competition is much more than an academic exercise,” said Stu Clark. “It provides students with investor feedback, critique and the support needed to secure the necessary capital to launch their business ideas, today, in the real world. The competition is intense and while there can only be one winner – the quality of the plans and their presentations make many of them financeable as presented.”
The competition is hosted by the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship at the Asper School of Business and will be held at the Fort Garry Hotel, March 14 – March 15.
The media and the public are welcome to attend the Idea Pitch and Logo Competition (sponsored by TD Bank) on Friday, March 14 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and the Championship Round (sponsored by Aikins Law) on Saturday, March 15 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
How to give a successful elevator pitch
A task competitors will be asked to do