Business Plan Competition Brings out Students’ Entrepreneurial Spirit
WILLIAMSBURG, VA -- Mason School of Business entrepreneurial students showed they had the know-how to start a business at the first ever Business Plan Competition.
Organized by Professor Richard Ash, 28 business students came out to present their ideas for a new business to a group of Executive Partners. Round one, the “Elevator Speech” competition, was a two-minute pitch performed by one member of each team in front of the judges. Each presentation -- along with an executive summary of their plan -- was reviewed before six semi-finalists were announced. The panel of judges included William Kauffman, Michael Picardi, William Doyle, Gus Guastaferro, James White and Charles Raphael.
The following students were chosen to move on to the final competition:
Jason Brindel FLEX MBA ‘08
William Caudle MBA ’08
Richard Greatti MBA ’08
Michael Hatchett FLEX MBA
Edward Porner MBA ’09, Pjerin Luli MBA ’09, Ulyana Dovbush MBA ’09
Ted Wertheim BBA ’08
For the final competition, a full business plan and a formal PowerPoint presentation were given to the judges. Each team had 20 minutes to present, followed by 20 minutes of intensive questioning. The panel of judges consisted of
Tom Frantz, President and Chief Operating Officer of Williams Mullen
Mike Sahady, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Avid Medical
David Nygaard, Owner of David Nygaard Fine Jewelers
Kermit Buntrock, Founder of Buntrock Industries
With $1,500 in prizes at stake, the judges took over an hour and a half deliberating before announcing the winners.
First Place – Jason Brindel MBA '08
Second Place – Ted Wertheim BBA ’08
Third Place – Richard Greatti MBA ’08
