Colorado State College of Business to Host 19 Universities at Fifth Annual Venture Adventure Business Competition April 22-23

The Center for Entrepreneurship at Colorado State University’s College of Business will host Venture Adventure, a two-day business plan competition April 22-23. Nineteen universities from the United States and Canada will compete for cash prizes at the fifth annual Venture Adventure.

Colorado State’s Venture Adventure competition gives undergraduate students the opportunity to present their ideas and plans for realistic new business ventures to a panel of judges made up of entrepreneurs and investors. Teams will receive valuable feedback from the judging panel that will offer insight into real-world entrepreneurial challenges and allow contestants to sharpen their business planning and presentation skills.

Each team will submit a complete business plan to judges who will review the plans prior to the competition and score them based on the executive summary, company overview, product or service, market analysis, management team, operating strategies, financials, viability and innovation. Based on competitor’s written plans and first round presentations, four winners will be selected for the finals on April 23. A new addition this year includes the four second place teams from round one engaging in a three minute elevator pitch, convincing a panel of judges why they should also be allowed to compete in the finals.

Winners will be announced at an awards lunch at the Lincoln Center in Fort Collins at noon on April 23. A special presentation by keynote speaker Magda King, renowned mountain climber, will be part of the lunch. King was the first Spanish woman to climb and summit an 8,000-meter mountain. Her presentation, titled "The High Road from Vision to Reality," will compare the planning, training, organization and execution of a climb to a business startup.

"This event is the perfect intersection of the three parts of our mission: entrepreneurial learning, venture startup and building bridges to the venture community," said Hunt Lambert, director of Colorado State’s Entrepreneurship Center. "The students will get real-life experience selling their plans and competing for limited resources. Last year, one plan even received funding from one of the judges. The winners from the past two years have both had successful launches."

Competitor’s include teams from the following universities and colleges: Babson, College, Colorado State University, Carnegie Mellon, College of William and Mary, Sierra Nevada College, Simon Frasier University, Springfield College, Syracuse University, United States Air Force Academy, University of California-Berkeley, University of Denver, University of Houston, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Northern Colorado, University of Texas-Arlington, University of Utah, University of Wyoming, Utah Valley State College and Washington State University.

Companies that support the center and make the $25,000 event possible include EKS&H, First Data Corporation, Faegre & Benson LLC, Gelazzi Gelato and Sequel Venture Partners.

The College of Business’ Entrepreneurship Center focuses on creating real-world learning experiences for students who aspire to become entrepreneurs through academic programs, entrepreneurial mentoring and trying to launch businesses. The center hosts programs like the Great Entrepreneur Speakers Series, the Entrepreneur-in-Residence mentoring program and the Venture Adventure competition.

For more information, contact Hunt Lambert or Venture Adventure managers, Alyssa Westfall and Lindsey Sielaff, at (970) 491-6876 or visit www.biz.colostate.edu/ecenter.

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