Biz idea competition

From: Subject: Biz idea competition Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2003 23:57:09 -0400 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: multipart/related; boundary="----=_NextPart_000_0000_01C2FE2A.91281580"; type="text/html" X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ------=_NextPart_000_0000_01C2FE2A.91281580 Content-Type: text/html; charset="Windows-1252" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Content-Location: http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/03/4.3.03/biz_idea_comp.html Biz idea competition

Best biz idea winner after competition is a tasty apple snack

By Linda Myers=20

A low-tech idea for a healthy and delicious fast-food snack took = first place,=20 and an award of $10,000, in a Cornell contest for the best business = idea.=20

The winning concept is Johnny Applestix -- sliced-to-order sticks of = fresh=20 apples lightly fried in canola oil, tossed in a secret blend seasoned = with=20 cinnamon and sugar, then served with the customer's choice of a vanilla = or a=20 caramel dipping sauce. It was developed by Mark Kuperman and Anthony = Dellamano,=20 both second-year students in the master's of management in hospitality = program=20 at Cornell's School of Hotel Administration. They hope eventually to = market=20 their product in malls, ballparks, airports and other high-traffic areas = across=20 the United States.=20

Now in its third year, the annual Business Idea Competition is = sponsored by=20 BR Ventures, a student-managed venture investment fund at Cornell's = Johnson=20 Graduate School of Management. The contest is open to any team with a = business=20 idea and at least one member with a Cornell affiliation -- students, = alumni,=20 faculty or staff. Past winning ideas have ranged from a mathematical = formula to=20 improve mammogram screening to a way to make enriched rice for = developing=20 countries.=20

Johnny Applestix Original uses all natural ingredients without = preservatives,=20 says Kuperman, who teamed with Dellamano to refine the product in Hotel = School=20 food laboratories, testing 12 different varieties of Cornell-grown = apples to=20 come up with the two that worked best, Mutsu and Ida Red. The two then = test=20 marketed Applestix at a stand at the Cornell Orchards last fall. They'll = use the=20 prize money to build their business plan beyond the incubation stage so = that=20 they can attract additional capital to make and market their product = nationally.=20 Winning also earns them advice from successful entrepreneurs, most of = them=20 Cornell alumni, whose contributions help support BR Ventures.=20

Earning the second-place prize of $2,500 was a team of four Cornell=20 engineering students. Samuel Lai, Howard Kwong, Kakit Tsui, all Class of = '03,=20 and Ernest Fung, a master's of engineering student. Their idea, = Invendium Cell=20 Microarray, streamlines the drug development process by combining=20 high-throughput screening (HTS) and biosensor technologies to profile = real-time=20 cellular responses to drugs (see http://www.brv.cornell.edu/).=20

The third-place team, Joshua Gordon '04, computer science, Michael = Gordon,=20 and Fred Dufour, won $1,000 for their idea for ClinicTracker. The=20 data-management software application will help medical clinics manage = patient=20 information and clinical activities more efficiently (see http://www.clinictracker.com/)= .=20

This year 90 entries competed for the top prizes. The winners were = chosen=20 after presenting to a panel of student managers of BR Ventures plus = three fund=20 advisers who are also Cornell alumni: Dan Simpkins '80, M.E.E. '81, CEO = of=20 Hillcrest Communications and an executive in residence at New Enterprise = Associates, a Silicon Valley venture capital fund; Ralph Terkowitz '72, = chief=20 technology officer of the Washington Post; and Jennifer Tegan, = MBA '01,=20 executive manager of the Cayuga Venture Fund.=20

Post-competition, many of the ideas submitted also are considered for = funding=20 and introduction into BR Incubator, a business incubator managed by = Johnson=20 School students that aids entrepreneurs in building their ideas into = successful=20 ventures. Armen Vartanian, a BR Ventures student fund manager, said, = "This is a=20 real 'value add' to the entrepreneur."=20

For more on the competition and BR Ventures, see: http://www.brv.cornell.edu/.=20

April 3, 2003

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