Troy, N.Y. - The Paul J. '69 and Kathleen M. Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship at Rensselaer's Lally School of Management and Technology announces a new $40,000 student business plan competition that is open to all colleges and universities in the 17-county, Tech Valley Region. The Tech Valley Collegiate Business Plan Competition aims to introduce students to entrepreneurship as a career choice, says Jeanne Stefanik, manager of the Severino Center.

Any student enrolled full-time at a college or university in the Tech Valley Region is eligible to enter. A faculty sponsor from the entering team's school must endorse each submission, and more than one team from each college may compete, as long as each has a faculty sponsor.

First-, second-, and third-place winners will receive $5,000, $4,000, and $3,000 in cash, respectively. In addition, the winning team will have the opportunity to receive an additional $20,000 in incremental seed funding, plus an additional $8,500 in legal counsel and patent application services. The winning team will be sponsored by the Severino Center at a national competition.

A full list of requirements and rules for the competition are available at http://scte.mgmt.rpi.edu/springbpc.html.

Final plans must be submitted by March 5, 2003. Finalists will present their proposals to a panel of venture capitalists and businessmen on April 9, 2003 at Rensselaer.

Workshop
On Wednesday, Jan. 22 from 6 to 8 p.m., a workshop for prospective entrants called "How to Write a Successful Business Plan" will be held. The workshop, which is free and open to all students, will be conducted at the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce office in Colonie.

Sponsors of the contest include: Rensselaer's Severino Center for Technological Entrepreneurship; ARCH Venture Partners; Honen & Wood, PC; and Hoffman, Warnick & D'Allesandro LLC.

Contact: Caroline Jenkins
Phone: (518) 276-6531
E-mail: N/A