8:28 a.m., April 23, 2010----Six teams of University of Delaware students, three each of graduate students and undergraduate students, presented their entrepreneurial business ideas to a panel of judges and fellow students, alumni, community members and business executives in the final presentations of the UD Business Plan Competition on Thursday afternoon, April 22, in Clayton Hall.

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In the graduate student division, the three finalists were selected from among 10 submissions by a review panel comprised of professional investors.

Linda Donnelly, a 1991 UD graduate and MBA student, presented Affordable Rental Homes, a business designed to provide an alternate solution to the current market that supplies rental housing to low-income individuals and families. According to Donnelly, the business would offer efficient, well-maintained rental homes to the community.

Glyn Edwards, Mary Jo Kulp and John Bhatt of the MBA program previewed Bhat Tec Ltd., a business designed to provide water purification systems for the Mumbai, India, restaurant market and to the rising middle class household market. According to the team, Bhat Tec intends to be a licensed distributor of water purification systems and sought a $100,000 investment to carry the company to break even.

Chanell Hanns, Maria Fargo, Chen Fang and Justin Newman, all of the MBA program, featured In & Out Salon, a business designed to offer a superior quality, quick and low-cost hair styling experience. From efficient and friendly customer service to highly-trained stylists, In & Out Salon promised a dedication to surpassing the beauty needs and expectations of Dominican and African-American women within the New Castle County area.

In the undergraduate student division, the three finalists were selected from over 20 submissions by a review panel of investors and entrepreneurs. The finalists' business plans were all characterized by solid innovative ideas, exceptional use of technology and promising business models.

Ross Sylvester presented College Taxi, an environmentally friendly and fun transportation service designed to provide safe, reliable pedal power rickshaw rides in Newark. Sylvester's business expansion goal is to provide a comprehensive business model and franchise to other college town locations.

Wybens Titus shared his business, NewBlackFriday.com, the newest social network website for finding door-buster deals near home. With NewBlackFriday.com, Titus proposed that customers would have access to time-saving tools and a greater wealth of information than is current available with other websites. Best of all, offered Titus, the service would be free.

Phillip Bonarigo and Peter Jackson previewed their business, UDHouses.com, an online, user-driven rental housing and college life search engine designed to solve several major problems affecting landlords and tenants involved in off-campus housing at universities through accessible information and rich media. Bonarigo and Jackson explained how users would gain access to communication tools, ratings and reviews, local attractions and a searchable database of houses by using UDHouses.com.

All student presentations during this final phase of the Business Plan Competition followed a “Venture Presentation Format,” in which each business presented for 10 minutes, followed by a 10-minute question and answer session with a panel of experienced investors, entrepreneurs and professionals.

The judging panel then evaluated the presentations based on the quality of the presentation (clarity, conciseness, format and ability to respond to questions) and the viability of the business (opportunity, capability and understanding). The competition was weighted 50 percent on the written business plan and 50 percent on the final presentation.

Judges included Grace Leong, president of Hunter Public Relations; Melissa Sherman, senior director of strategic development at Kensey Nash Corporation; James P. Lisa, Jr., alumnus and executive vice president of Penguin Real Estate Investors, LP; Patrick J. Foley, Jr., managing principal of Innovation Capital Advisors; and Ty Austin, director of strategic initiatives at DelACCESS Consortium.

The prizes this year are $3,000 for the winner in each division and $750 for the other finalists.

Following the student presentations, David G. Thomson, founder and chairman of The Blueprint Growth Institute and author of Blueprint to a Billion, offered keen insight on the essential practices of successful businesses and words of wisdom to the student entrepreneurs.

“The founder of Staples launched his business and nobody came,” said Thomson. “Just three years later, his business had $120 million in revenue and today has $20 billion.

“So when you launch your business and nobody comes, in the face of adversity, whether you witness competition or not, you can create a business wilder than your dreams. Who would have predicted that on the third day when he couldn't get any customers to come to Staples, that he would have a $20 billion business around the world today? Well I'm here to tell you that one of you might just accidentally do that, and it's because you have the perseverance to do it.”

A book signing and reception in the conference center followed Thomson's talk.

Blueprint Growth Institute is a specialized management-consulting firm focused on helping companies to develop growth strategies and execute the “7 Essentials,” insights Thomson identified as a quantitative success pattern of America's highest growth companies that he shares in his best-seller Blueprint to a Billion.

Thomson has been studying and leading business growth for twenty years in general management and executive sales/marketing at Nortel Networks and Hewlett-Packard and as an associate principal during his five years at McKinsey & Company. Thomson graduated with an electrical engineering degree from the University of Waterloo and an MBA from the University of Western Ontario.

The UD Business Plan Competition, co-founded by Scott Jones, professor and director of entrepreneurial studies, and Barry Williams was created to find new venture ideas and build successful businesses, as well as to provide education and networking opportunities for students. It is a process for students to turn great ideas into great businesses, and the competition encourages participants to take an idea from the concept phase to a full business plan and create the opportunity to build a new venture.

The finalists and winners of the Business Plan Competition were to be announced during the President's Forum on Innovation and Entrepreneurship on Friday, April 23.

Article by Kathryn A. Marrone