Twenty-one entries from 15 communities are competing in the finalist round of the eighth annual Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest.
The contestants have survived two rounds of judging in the contest organized through the Wisconsin Technology Council, which produces the contest in conjunction with the Wisconsin Innovation Network, the Wisconsin Angel Network and other statewide affiliates. The contest began in late January with 220 entries.
“The business plans in the final round reflect some of Wisconsin’s core technology strengths, as well as the fact that entrepreneurs can be found in all corners of the state,” said Mark Bugher, chairman of the Tech Council.
The 21 plans selected for the final round will be joined by the winners of the Northeast Wisconsin Business Plan Contest, the UW-Madison Burrill competition, the Marquette University Kohler competition and the BizStarts collegiate competition bringing the total number of finalists to 25.
Ideas from this year’s crop of finalists include products for e-Learning, Type I diabetes, cancer treatment, infection control, software, speech development and manufacturing processes and products. Entries were submitted in four categories: Advanced Manufacturing, Business Services, Information Technology and Life Sciences.
Contestants will submit a 20-page business plan for review by a panel of more than 60 judges established by the Tech Council, which is the non-profit and non-partisan science and technology adviser to the governor and the Legislature. Each plan describes the core product or service, defines the customer base, estimates the size of the market, identifies competition, list members of the management team and provides key financial data.
The finalists’ executive summaries as well as those filed by semi-finalists are available for inspection by accredited investors through the Wisconsin Angel Network, which has 25 member angel networks, private equity funds or corporate strategic partners.
About $150,000 in cash and in-kind prizes have been pledged thus far for the 2011 contest; first prize in the statewide contest is worth $50,000 in cash and services. Prize winners will be announced June 7-8 at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Milwaukee.
Sponsors of the 2010 contest and 2011 sponsors to date include: 5Nines/Matador Consulting; Aberdean Consulting LLC; Alliant Energy; American Transmission Co.; Associated Bank; Baird Venture Partners; Earth Information Technologies; Fitchburg Technology Campus; Foley & Lardner LLP; Forte Research Systems; Frontier Airlines; Functional Biosciences; The Gialamas Company; The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Journal Interactive; The Milwaukee Institute; Kollath & Associates, CPAs; The Luminis Group Ltd.; Madison Area Technical College; Madison Gas & Electric Co.; McAllen TECH Campus; Michael Best & Friedrich LLP; Mortenson Construction; MRA – The Management Association; Murphy Desmond; Perkins Coie; Quarles & Brady LLP; Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.; Ruedebusch Development & Construction; Rusk Prairie Group; Smith & Gesteland LLP; State of Wisconsin Investment Board; TDS Telecom; University Research Park; Wisconsin Department of Commerce; WisBusiness.com; Wisconsin Angel Network; Wisconsin Tech College System; Wisconsin Technology Council; WTN Media; and Xcel Energy. To become a sponsor, call 608-442-7557 or visit http://www.govsbizplancontest.com
Finalists for 2011 are listed below. Reporters wishing to contact individual contestants may do so through the Wisconsin Technology Council by calling 608-442-7557 ext. 27.
Marco Araujo – InterMeds – Green Bay
Suman Banerjee – WiRover – Madison
John Bender – Simple Campus Housing – Colgate
Erwin Berthier – Painless home cholesterol test – Madison
Richard Bowers Matrix – Reading Solutions – Hobart
Douglas Buch – PaveDrain – Greenfield
Greg Dockter – Topical Bleeding Gel – Cottage Grove
Ryan Dover – LocalGrown – Lake Geneva
Patrick Heaney NCD – Coatings for Micro Tools – Middleton
Pat James – DEMET for better copper mining – Madison
Jim Maerzke – 21st Century Wheelchair – Kenosha
Jonathan Pearl – Perceptral – Racine
Peter Petit – Vacuum-Insulated Window Glass Pewaukee
Thomas Primiano – NanoOncology – Madison
Amy Recob – The BugaBees – Middleton
Amy Reno – Speechtails.com – Wauwatosa
Brad Schwei – PureTech Systems – Neenah
Jeremy Shafton – Door-6 – Madison
Jeffrey Smith – Kinetic Performance Systems – Nashotah
Hans Sollinger – Treatment of Type I diabetes – Madison
Robert Steffes – Flying Cart LLC – Waukesha
