Gov. Baldacci to Award $10,000 to Student Entrepreneurs
at USM
April 7, 2004
A winning team of student entrepreneurs will be presented
with a check for $10,000 by Gov. John Baldacci at 8:45 a.m.,
Thursday, April 15, 2004, at USM's Woodbury Campus Center
in Portland. The team will be selected from among five finalists
in the USM 2004 Student Business Plan Competition sponsored
by USM's School of Business. The presentation will take place
during the USM Corporate Partners Breakfast, which begins
at 7:15 a.m.
Now in its third year, the competition gives students an
opportunity to compete for $10,000 in cash and an additional
$15,000 in support services to seed an original business concept.
Students must develop, write, and present business plans,
with mentoring assistance available from local business people.
Participation in this year's competition was extended to
students at Southern Maine Community College (SMCC), bringing
in a record number of 14 business plan submissions. The competition
is open to any student. This year's proposals included plans
for retail merchandising, transportation services, software
technology for motion pictures, wellness center activities,
and pre-employment screening services, among others.
"This competition brings together the business community
and students from USM and SMCC in a unique way," notes Valarie
Lamont, director of USM's Center for Entrepreneurship and
Small Business. "Students gets to interact with leading business
people before, during, and even after the competition. They
learn the fundamentals of small business planning and participate
in interdisciplinary teamwork. The end results are often highly
original and a benefit to the business community as a whole."
Last year's winners, USM students Jessica Brearly and Jessica
Nolette, took the prize for their invention of an under-the-bed,
pop-up ironing board. The 2002 winners, Superna Environmental
Sensors, developed new technology for environmental monitoring
in the coastal environment.
"This event stimulates a high level of entrepreneurship and
helps to build small businesses for Maine," says Jack Trifts,
dean of USM's School of Business. "I am particularly pleased
that students from SMCC will also participate in this year's
competition. This is the first step in our long-term plan
to make the competition open to all students at Maine universities
and colleges."
"This event stimulates a high level of entrepreneurship and
helps to build small businesses for Maine," says Jack Trifts,
dean of USM's School of Business. "I am particularly pleased
that students from SMCC will also participate in this year's
competition. This is the first step in our long-term plan
to make the competition open to all students at Maine universities
and colleges."
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