College of Business at Colorado State to Host 16 Universities at Competition April 18-19

The Center for Entrepreneurship at Colorado State University’s College of Business will host Venture Adventure, a two-day business plan competition on Friday, April 18, and Saturday, April 19, in Rockwell Hall.

Sixteen universities throughout the country will compete for cash prizes – up to $7,500 – at the eighth annual competition. Members of the public are invited to attend.

"Venture Adventure is a really good idea for any student interested in entrepreneurship," said Katie Barstow, a sophomore business administration major. "It gives you a 360-degree look at business and provides a great idea about what goes into starting your own business."

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 community entrepreneurs and investors. Teams receive feedback from the judging panel that offers insight into real-world entrepreneurial challenges and allows 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.

Round one of the competition is Friday. First-place winners for each track will advance to the finals on Saturday. Five finalists will compete based on an oral presentation on Saturday.

Barstow and Molly Dunkle, a freshman business management major, developed a business plan for the competition to help them with their business, Sweets Cosmetics, which they started in November 2006.

"We thought that it would be beneficial to help us organize our business," Barstow said. "The judges’ feedback will be one the best things we will get out of the competition whether or not we win. It’ll be good to see how others view our business."

Several schools that competed in the past have returned to the competition this year. In addition to Colorado State, this year’s competitors include teams from all over North America such as the University of British Columbia, which placed first last year; Syracuse University; Texas Christian University; University of Illinois; and Miami University.

Venture Adventure is sponsored by the Department of Management in the College of Business, the Colorado State Office of Economic Development and CSU Ventures.

The College of Business’ Entrepreneurship Center focuses on creating real-world learning experiences for students who aspire to become entrepreneurs through academic programs and entrepreneurial mentoring. The center hosts programs such as the Great Entrepreneur Speakers Series, the Entrepreneur Rotating Dinner and the Venture Adventure competition.

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