Students win business plan competition

A team of MBA and Ph.D. students took first place and the grand prize of $10,000 April 2 at Venture Challenge 2000, the 11th annual Student Business Plan Competition at San Diego State University.

The Wisconsin team, sponsored by the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship at the School of Business, won out over teams from top U.S. and international business schools. The competition was sponsored by Nasdaq, Qualcomm, Sempra Energy and San Diego State University.

The international business plan competition has become a showcase for top entrepreneurship students and their startup companies. Previous winners have received significant funding and developed into successful business ventures as a result of the attention from winning the competition

The UW team submitted a business plan for Inter3D.com, an early-stage startup offering proprietary, Internet-based 3-D Computer Aided Design software for engineers and product managers of small and mid-sized manufacturers. The company was founded in 1999 by two members of the UW–Madison Mechanical Engineering Department.

Team members were Jay Ebben, Anya Sarkisov, Phil Greenwood and Johanna Jonung. Advisers were professors Robert Pricer and Ted Baker.

Pricer, head of UW’s entrepreneurship program, says: “Winning this competition is another milestone for our program. While the publicity and award money are gratifying, it also proves that our students are able to compete successfully in competition among the world’s top programs.”

Wisconsin’s entrepreneurship program was ranked as one of the world’s top programs by the Financial Times of London in February 2000.