By Catherine Gray Beuten
Integrated University Communications
(June 10, 2009) It might sound a little nutty, but a backyard hobby just netted an Executive MBA alumnus top honors –$10,000 plus in-kind prizes – at the eighth annual Bard Center Business Plan Competition. Justin Perkins started Olomomo Nut Co. to help fill a gap in healthy snackage at Boulder coffee shops. “This is protein vs. pastries,” Perkins told judges. “There is not enough food in coffee shops for carb-conscious folks.”
The budding company is targeting “LOHAS,” people who lead “lifestyles of health and sustainability.” Judging by the response the company has receives so far, and the enthusiasm of the sampling panelists and participants, the company has potential to reach far beyond Boulder.
The level of competition this year was “simply amazing,” says Catherine Kunst, director of the Bard Center. For the first time, the premier academic business plan competition in Colorado opened its doors to not only faculty, staff, students and alumni from higher ed institutions, but to entrepreneurs across the state. “It is our goal to drive economic growth in the state of Colorado,” Kunst stressed.
The six best aspiring entrepreneurs and their teams were chosen among 76 applicants to compete in the public competition at the Grand Hyatt. The competition promotes the creation and development of high caliber businesses by recognizing the most outstanding plans for early stage Colorado companies with cash and in-kind awards from area businesses.
Other finalists/winners included:
2nd Place: $5,000, The Organic Dish, Beckie and Toby Hemmerling, which makes pre-assembled, frozen meals using organic and farm-fresh ingredients for busy families and professionals. Customers can either buy meals at The Organic Dish’s kitchen in Boulder, or order online with an option for home or office delivery within the Denver Metro area. The company focuses on catering to individuals and families who struggle to balance healthy eating at home and work with busy lives.
3rd Place: $2,500, VibraLung Inc., Art Hughes, Jim Medford and Jon Wallace, a biomedical device company with a proprietary airway clearance device for treating patients with phlegm producing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Their product, VibraLung Advanced Acoustic Airway Clearance Percussor, will aid in phlegm removal, and thus mitigate both secondary infections and primary disease progression. The plan also won the bioscience award of $5,000.
$1,000 recipients:
Also Energy, Robert Schaefer and Holden Caine, develops and maintains portfolios of mini-solar electricity utilities for building owners and occupants in Colorado. Their first portfolio, Solar Power Pack One, consists of one megawatt of photovoltaic systems installed in Colorado. The customers pay for the electricity the system generates while Also Energy partners with Colorado electric integrators for design and installation, and performs system maintenance.
Global CaféNation, a plan by University of Denver 19-year-old students Jake Sager and Nichole Parker, seeks to provide a sustainable solution to alleviate poverty and stimulate economic development in Tanzania through the direct trade of Tanzanian coffee and artisan goods in the United States. The plan also won the $1,000 non-profit award.
Western States Biopharmaceuticals Inc., Michael J. Reilly and Carl K. Edwards, is a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the treatment of inflammatory diseases. Through the development of novel drug therapies, the company has created a treatment that blocks the part of the immune system attacking the body while also allowing the body to fight infection.
Find out more about the Bard Center for Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition.
Photos: Top, Justin Perkins, center, is congratulated by Rutt Bridges and Catherine Kunst. Group: Participants included, standing from left, Perkins, Robert Schaefer, Holden Caine, Nichole Parker, Toby Hemmerling, Beckie Hemmerling, Carl K. Edwards and Michael J. Reilly. Kneeling from left, Art Hughes and Jake Sager.