Students map inventive business plans in contest

Thirty-eight students at UW–Madison who have devised business plans for products — ranging from lighted ice in hockey rinks to alternative energy systems — will face off in the G. Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition on Friday, April 23.

Among the business ideas are a fishing net that prevents large fish from getting away, a medical diagnosis device, a car-swap system, an accessory to enhance the value of notebook computers, integrated communication software, alternative energy from landfill gas, specialized home grocery delivery and hearing diagnosis software.

The competition, which involves students from business, engineering, the sciences and other disciplines, will also feature ideas for a process to develop hydrogen fuels for cars, a wireless parking meter system, synthetic large molecules to enable biotechnology research, a sports training device and a portable toxins detector.

Fourteen teams will have 20 minutes each to pitch their ideas to a panel of experts, with presentations expected to last from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. in 3070 Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave. The presentations are open to the public.

At stake is $22,000 in prize money. The winning team will walk away with $10,000, while second-, third- and fourth-place winners will receive $7,000, $4,000 and $1,000 respectively.

Business experts will evaluate the teams’ business plans based on their chances of successfully bringing their products or services to market. Previous Burrill participants have gone on to work in many areas of entrepreneurship, including creating their own businesses, as well as working to enhance the entrepreneurs’ opportunities for success.

Teams are judged on the quality of their presentations and their written business plans. Judges include John Neis, Venture Investors of Wisconsin, Madison; Dick Wilkey, Fisher-Barton, Watertown; Patricia Lipton, former executive director, State of Wisconsin Investment Board, Madison; and Terry Gerhardt, Sonoco, Hartsville, S.C.

A keynote speech by Rockwell Mackie, a UW–Madison professor of medicine who founded TomoTherapy, will highlight the afternoon. At 3 p.m., Mackie will discuss how he tackled the challenge of creating social good while founding a for-profit company.

Following Mackie’s talk, at about 4 p.m., winners of the competition will be announced.

The G. Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition is held each spring in the School of Business. The sponsor is the UW Technology Enterprise Cooperative (UW TEC), a cross-campus effort led by the deans of the School of Business, the College of Engineering, and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

Within the business school, it is a joint venture of the Erdman Center for Operations and Technology Management, the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship, the program for Strategic Management in the Life and Engineering Sciences, and the Initiative for Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship. Other UW TEC programs include Innovation Day, the Schoofs Prize for Creativity and the Tong Prototype Prizes.

This is the seventh annual technology business plan competition on the UW–Madison campus.