November 17, 2004
Finalists named in Purdue-Lilly Endowment biz plan competition
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Finalists have been named in the $50,000 Opportunity for Indiana Business Plan Competition, sponsored by the Lilly Endowment, Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship and Purdue Research Park.
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The five finalists will make business plan presentations and respond to a panel of judges' questions beginning at 8 a.m. Nov. 23 in the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship auditorium. Presentations will wrap up at noon.
In addition to the competition in West Lafayette, there also are competitions at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne on Nov. 22 and at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond on Dec. 1.
Richard A. Cosier, director of the Burton D. Morgan Center and Krannert School of Management dean, said, "Through the immense generosity of the Lilly Endowment, Purdue will be able to help Indiana start and retain exciting new businesses that likely will employ highly paid knowledge workers."
The finalists in the West Lafayette competition, chosen from the 40 teams that entered, are:
– Artistrunway.com from Indianapolis aims to represent visual artists' work and place it in corporation settings. The principal and presenter is Loree Everette.
– Imaginestics, a West Lafayette startup, proposes to provide data and knowledge management for manufacturing companies. The principal and presenter is Rathod Nainesh.
– Quadraspec, a West Lafayette company, aims to commercialize patented BioCD technology, developed at Purdue by physics professor David Nolte, that enables blood to be screened to detect disease. The principal and presenter is Brian Weichel.
– Sightwave Binoculars, based in Zionsville, is completing a patented prototype for the consumer electronics market called Digiviewer. The device uses a motorized zoom lens for capturing and presenting an image on a single viewscreen in a binocular-shaped body. The principal and presenter is David Ballefuil.
– Triformis, an Indianapolis clinical technology firm, aims to develop cost-effective methods to improve the efficiency of clinical trials. The principal and presenter is Greg Downey.
Prizes are $25,000 for first place, $15,000 for second and $10,000 for third. Local sponsorships may increase the prize amounts and add professional services for the winners. The winners will be announced at 2 p.m. at the Purdue Technology Center, 3000 Kent Drive, in the Purdue Research Park.
Don Blewett, associate director of Purdue's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship,
said the competitions are open to Indiana startups and businesses that want to expand. Entrants from outside Indiana can enter if they locate within the state. Competitions are scheduled for 2005 and 2006.
Judges for the West Lafayette competition are Bill Hinjst, Research Properties LLC, Fowler; Gail Koehler, Purdue Employees Federal Credit Union; Monty Korte, Ernst & Young LLC, Indianapolis; Eric Murphy, University Inn, Lafayette; Kevin Potter, Shiel Sexton, Indianapolis; Rick Spykman, Stuart and Branigan LLP; and Alan Tucker, CSO Architects, Indianapolis.
The Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship is the first of six centers in Purdue's Discovery Park. The other centers are the Birck Nanotechnology Center, Bindley Bioscience Center, Discovery Learning Center, e-Enterprise Center and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing. The new Biomedical Engineering Building also will be located in Discovery Park.
The Lilly Endowment funds that are sponsoring the competition are part of a $3.5 million, three-year Opportunity for Indiana grant, which aims to provide more opportunities and good jobs for graduates of the state's colleges, universities, technical schools and high schools.
Inquiries about the competition should be directed to Blewett at (765) 494-4485, blewett@mgmt.purdue.edu. The competition Web site.
Writer: Mike Lillich, (765) 494-2077, mlillich@purdue.edu
Sources: Richard Cosier, (765) 494-4366, rcosier@mgmt.purdue.edu
Don Blewett, (765) 494-4485, blewett@purdue.edu
Loree Everette, Artistrunway.com, (317) 439-4355, support@artistway.com
Rathod Nainesh, Imaginestics, (765) 464-1700, nainesh.rathod@imagaistics.com
Brian Weichel, Quadraspec, (630) 730-5999, bweichel@purdue.edu
David Ballefuil, Sightwave Binoculars, (317) 513-8322, sales@digitechproducts.com
Greg Downey, Triformis, (317) 826-8779, greg.downey@triformisgroup.com
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to Journalists: Video b-roll is available by contacting Mike Lillich, (765) 494-2077, mlillich@purdue.edu.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Matthew Campbell, chief operating officer of Iris AO, makes the winning presentation at Purdue's inaugural Life Sciences Business Plan Competition in 2003. Regional business plan competitions, sponsored by the Lilly Endowment's $3.5 million Opportunity for Indiana grant, are modeled on competitions such as the life sciences competition run by the Krannert School of Management and the Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship. (Purdue University file photo/John Underwood)
A publication-quality photograph is available at https://www.purdue.edu/uns/images/+2004/blewett-regcomp.jpg
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