University of North Dakota, Alerus Financial announce regional business plan competition winners

The Department of Entrepreneurship at the University of North Dakota, in partnership with Alerus Financial, was pleased to host the Alerus Entrepreneurship Challenge, a new state-wide/regional business plan competition that was held on the UND campus in Grand Forks on, April 23-24, 2010.

The Alerus Entrepreneurship Challenge is designed for any undergraduate or graduate student enrolled at a North Dakota or neighboring state college or university during the 2009-2010 academic year. There were 11 teams entered in this years’ competition representing the University of North Dakota, University of South Dakota, University Minnesota -Crookston, and University of Manitoba.

The top prize for the winning team in the business plan competition was $5,000 provided by JLG Architects and specifically JLG.edu, and was awarded to A2K Technologies. Team members Andrea Legary and Curtis Leonhardt from the University of Manitoba were awarded the top prize for their business plan involving the deployment of patented nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy colorectal cancer screening technology. The second prize was $2,000 and was provided by the UND Center for Innovation, awarded to the team of Under30CEO Franchises. John Kreklow, University of South Dakota, developed a plan to promote standardization to all social media products and services. Lastly, 3rd prize of $1,000 was provided by Digi-Key Corporation, and was awarded to Field of View LLC. Team members David Dvorak, Jonathan Alme, Mariusz Czarnomski, and Matt Maurer from the University of North Dakota developed a plan for a high-tech start- up company that sells specialized aerial imagery products obtained using Unmanned Aircraft Systems.

Additional awards were also presented for “Most Innovative Idea ”and “Best Elevator Pitch”, both of which were awarded to A2K Technologies – University of Manitoba for their nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy colorectal cancer screening technology, with two $250 prizes provided by Construction Engineers. Honorable mentions were provided to Ranch Way Aviation-University of North Dakota and Living Innovation-University of North Dakota for their elevator pitches.

“This was a great opportunity for our students at UND and other enterprising students across the state and region,” says Dr. Larry Pate, Professor and Burwell Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship, UND Department of Entrepreneurship. “Each student team in the competition received valuable feedback on their business plan from practicing entrepreneurs, which will increase the team’s chances of success in launching their business. Ultimately, our goal is to help students achieve their dreams, while also creating more jobs and job opportunities across the state and region.”

The competition will take place annually at the University of North Dakota to continue to support innovation, entrepreneurship and development of future business ventures.

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