Colorado State University Students and Aspiring Entrepreneurs Compete to Bring their Ideas to Market

Colorado State University business students will present their ideas for new business ventures to a panel of business leaders, inventors and experts in entrepreneurship at the annual Venture Adventure Colorado competition. The event will take place from 2-7 p.m. Dec. 5 and 2-4 p.m. Dec. 7 at CSU’s College of Business Rockwell Hall-West.

Awards will be given to the teams with the best ideas based on the quality of student presentations, business viability and economic potential. This year’s entries include start-up companies ranging from website and mobile app companies, solar stations, wedding and event planning services, mini-golf courses, road construction companies, bakeries, retail clothing and sporting goods locations, print publications, and concert venues.

Awards include:

CSU Entrepreneurship Center Venture Adventure Award
Supported by the CSU Entrepreneurship Center, this award provides a small cash prize to members of the winning team. Awards are provided individually and divided equally among the student team members. One first place and one runner-up prize will be awarded each night of the competition.

Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Enterprise NEVA Award
The New Economy Venture Accelerator provides physical space, resources and networks to budding student entrepreneurs at CSU. CASE will invite one student business from the competition into the NEVA incubator.

In addition to being judged based on the quality of their presentation, business viability and economic potential, winning entries for the NEVA award must embrace a social or sustainable business model and be a student start-up as opposed to a division or effort of an existing organization. Both non-profit and for-profit organizations are acceptable and, unless otherwise determined, only one NEVA award will be offered across the two nights of presentations and will be awarded on Dec. 7.

Venture Adventure gives undergraduate students the opportunity to present their ideas and plans for realistic new ventures to a panel of judges made up of entrepreneurs and investors. Teams receive valuable feedback from the judging panel that offers them insights into "real world" entrepreneurial challenges and allows them to focus on sharpening their business planning and presentation skills.

Further, this event is part of broader program efforts in entrepreneurship, including the Global Social Sustainable Enterprise program, the internationally renowned faculty, and College of Business Dean Ajay Menon’s recent appointment as chief innovation officer for the state of Colorado’s Innovation Network (COIN).

For more information about Venture Adventure, contact Tom Dean, professor of Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Enterprise, at (970) 491-7266 or tom.dean@colostate.edu

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