Blue Ocean Enterprises Challenge Announces $250,000 Business Pitch Finalists Feb. 11

Colorado State University and Blue Ocean Enterprises will be announcing the 32 competitors for $250,000 in business funding in the Blue Ocean Enterprises Challenge, the nation’s premier business pitch competition tomorrow morning.

The finalists will be announced live on Tuesday, Feb. 11, at 9:30 a.m. Mountain Time (11:30 Eastern, 10:30 Central, 8:30 Pacific) on the campus of Colorado State University, which is co-sponsoring the event. The names of the competitors will not be released prior to the official announcement.

For those who cannot attend the press conference, it will be live-streamed online here.

“We have chosen 16 Collegiate Track and 16 Enterprise Track finalists who will compete in May for a grand prize package of $250,000 in funding, intensive strategy and operations support, and a 12-month business mentoring program,” explained Charisse Bowen, director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship at the CSU College of Business and co-director of the Blue Ocean Enterprises Challenge. “The competition’s finalists, selected from more than 100 applicants, represent 22 industry categories and hail from eight states. The finalists exemplify the entrepreneurial passions and game-changing ideas that are driving our growing economy.”

In addition to Blue Ocean Enterprises and Colorado State, both headquartered in Fort Collins, the Challenge has major support from Hewlett-Packard, E-Myth, 1st Bank and the City of Fort Collins.

The competitions in May – May 2 for the competitors from colleges and universities in Colorado, May 23-25 for startups and existing enterprises – will be preceded by three educational workshops to help them refine their business plans and increase their chances of winning.

Information about the Blue Ocean Enterprises Challenge is available at www.blueoceanchallenge.com.

For more details about the competition, contact Charisse Bowen at 970-491-2737, charisse.bowen@business.colostate.edu, or Kate Jeracki, 970-491-2658, kate.jeracki@colostate.edu.

-30-