The 2007 New Venture Challenge competition culminated last week at the University of Chicago GSB, with nine teams of finalists presenting their business plans to a panel of 18 judges. The first place award went to Braintree Financial, founded by one recent graduate of Chicago’s Executive MBA program and three members of the Class of ’07. The firm has been in operation since 2006 and offers payment processing services, as well as services related to financing and security compliance. The company took home $25,000 in prize money.
The second place award was split between two teams, each winning $15,000. One team presented a plan for a company offering prepared foods, while the other uses an extensive clinical network in India to provide data to medical device customers in the U.S.
Since the contest began in 1997, competing teams have spent the fall developing their plans, submitting their first summary proposals in January. Throughout the second semester they further refine the plans with the aid of a seminar entitled Special Topics in Entrepreneurship.
Business plan and new venture contests like this one at the GSB provide a fantastic hands-on lesson in entrepreneurship, and are certainly worth investigating when researching MBA programs; the New Venture Challenge alone has launched over 40 new companies in the last ten years. Good luck to the winning teams, and congratulations to all nine finalists in this year’s competition!
# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:32 pm in MBA News, School: Chicago