Tepper School of Business
April/May 2009 newsletter
"Dynamic" Tepper Team a Big Winner at 2009 McGinnis Venture Competition and Rice University Business Plan Competition
Thirty teams from 24 colleges and universities around the world came to Carnegie Mellon and the David A. Tepper School of Business for the sixth annual McGinnis Venture Competition (March 12-14, 2009), making it the largest field in the competition’s history.
“The McGinnis Venture Competition continues to grow in popularity and recognition as one of the top new venture competitions in the world,” said Dr. Arthur A. Boni, director of the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship. “Every year we have good teams, but judges, sponsors and competition attendees were unanimous that this year’s teams were, top to bottom, the strongest we’ve ever had.”
There were three tracks in the 2009 McGinnis Venture Competition: Life Science, Technology and Sustainable Technology. A grand prize winner was named in each track, and there was also a first-place prize awarded to the best Elevator Pitch presentation. Top teams also won in-kind, legal-service prizes for intellectual property issues.
For the third time in the competition’s history, a Tepper School team took the grand prize in one of the tracks. Jeff Mullen (MBA, 2009), Brad Carpenter (MBA, 2009) and Andrew Hicks (MBA, 2009) won the top prize in the Technology Track with their venture Dynamics, Inc. (produces next-generation, interactive payment cards with programmable magnetic strips). Dynamics is already up and running, with a main office in Pittsburgh, one in California, pilot customers in place and significant revenues expected in 2009 (please also see a March 15 story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review).
The University of Michigan’s Husk team (business-to-business company that will use proprietary technology to convert agricultural waste into high-grade, vacuum-insulated panels) won the grand prize in the Sustainable Technology Track, and the University of Utah’s ElutInc. team (start-up orthopedic device company that improves orthopedic surgeries and bone healing) won the top prize in the Life Science Track.
Two of the three track winners also received a berth in the 2009 University of Texas at Austin Global Moot Corp Competition. Tepper's Dynamics team already is going to Moot Corp, so the berths went to the Michigan and Utah teams.
Dartmouth College’s mPedigree Logistics (provides pharmaceutical companies with robust anti-counterfeit solutions for emerging markets) won the Elevator Pitch round.
Glen Meakem, co-founder and managing director of Meakem Becker Venture Capital and former founder, chairman and CEO of FreeMarkets, Inc. (currently Ariba, Inc.), was the keynote speaker at the competition awards dinner. Meakem is one of the region's most successful and well-known entrepreneurs. Michael Kobold, a Carnegie Mellon alumnus and founder and CEO of Kobold Watch Company, spoke at the dinner about his Mt. Everest climbing expedition that will raise funds for The Navy SEAL Warrior Fund.
The McGinnis Venture Competition would not be possible without the support of our sponsors. Please visit www.mcginnisventurecompetition.com for more information about the McGinnis Venture Competition.
Dynamics also won $125,000 as the top winner at Rice University's 2009 Business Plan Competition on April 18. Dynamics has a chance for an unprecedented year of success at intercollegiate business plan competitions when the team finishes the academic year competing at the University of Texas at Austin's Global Moot Corp Competition on May 6-9, 2009.
Photo caption (l to r): Glen Meakem presents the first-place prize to Jeff Mullen (MBA, 2009), Bruce Cloutier and Brad Carpenter (MBA, 2009) at the 2009 McGinnis Venture Competition.
Joel Adams Kicks Off Swartz Leadership Series
Joel P. Adams, general partner and founder of Adams Capital Management, Inc. (a national venture capital firm specializing in early-stage, applied technology investments) and a 1986 graduate of the Tepper School, was the first speaker in the Jones Center's 2009 James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Leadership Series.
"The Swartz Series brings top entrepreneurship leaders to Carnegie Mellon to speak about leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship with our students," said Dr. Arthur Boni (director of the Jones Center). "These experts are great resources for our students, and the lectures allow them to learn about entrepreneurial issues in a different way than one does in the classroom."
George Bennett (executive chairman of Health Dialog) spoke in February, and Andy Garman (managing partner of New Venture Partners) lectured in March. The spring 2009 Swartz Leadership Series concluded with William Kassling (chairman of Wabtec Corporation) on March 30 and Scott Griffith (chairman and CEO of Zipcar Inc.) on April 16. Please contact Amanda Fox (afox@andrew.cmu.edu), the Jones Center's business development manager, for more information about the James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Leadership Series.
Tepper School EVC Internal Business Plan Competition Brings Together Carnegie Mellon Entrepreneurs
This year was no different as Jeff Mullen (MBA, 2009) presented for his Dynamics venture (maker of programmable payment cards), which took the top prize. But Dynamics wasn't the only impressive team taking part; 13 teams from departments such as the School of Design, the Heinz School and the Carnegie Institute of Technology competed.
"This competition not only highlights the entrepreneurial talent we have within various schools of Carnegie Mellon," said Arthur A. Boni (director of the Donald H. Jones Center for Entrepreneurship), "but it also allows us to pursue our goal of teaching entrepreneurship and encouraging entrepreneurial activity across university departments."
Salman Mukhtar (MBA 2009) took second place with his Cielo Gaming venture (Cielo is developing a platform for remote gambling using cell phones and other smart devices). "The feedback we received at the competition played a key role in helping us formulate a technical idea into a business model," said Mukhtar.
First-year Tepper students Conrad Wredberg and Chris Rigatti did not finish in the top three with their Phoupons idea, but they found the experience invaluable. "This competition was an excellent opportunity to both practice our pitch and get constructive feedback," said Wredberg. "The quality of the feedback was exceptional, and the chance to put our idea out in front of experienced investors was an eye-opener."
