Congratulations to the 2010 Tri-State Winners!
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Two teams from the University of Arkansas won the Graduate and Undergraduate tracks at the Donald W. Reynolds Tri-State Award competition held May 19 at Red Rock Casino and Resort in Las Vegas.
InnerVision, LLC, and Arkansas Auto-Fluff each took home $25,000 in cash prizes for their first-place finishes. BiologicsMD, also from the University of Arkansas, was awarded second place in the Graduate Track, and UniPHI from the University of Oklahoma finished second in the Undergraduate division.
Both BiologicsMD and UniPHI claimed $15,000 each for their businesses.
Dr. Misty Stevens (BiologicsMD) won the Graduate Track Elevator Pitch competition. UniPHI’s Blake Tripplet won the Undergraduate Track Elevator Pitch. Each student earned $1,000 dollars for their 90-second speech aimed at introducing people to their respective businesses.
Six teams from Arkansas, Nevada and Oklahoma – all first- and second-place winners in their respective state’s Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup competitions – were invited to compete for $90,000 in total prize money in the Third Annual Tri-State event.
The Tri-State Award represents the pinnacle of three statewide business plan competitions where the top two teams (undergraduate & graduate) from each state will compete for cash awards.
The Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup is a statewide undergraduate & graduate business plan competition designed to encourage students in Arkansas, Nevada, and Oklahoma to showcase their entrepreneurial talents and to simulate the real-world process of entrepreneurs creating a business plan to soliciting start-up funds from potential investors. Students involved in this competition gain access to networks of successful entrepreneurs, lenders and investors, team building opportunities, business planning skills, and media exposure.
Information on each of the 12 teams competing in this year’s Tri-State competition can be found below:
2010 Tri-State Graduate Track Competitors
In-Line Imaging – University of Oklahoma
An estimated 20 percent of all breast cancer tumors are missed by mammography screening, yet more than 800,000 unnecessary breast biopsies are performed each year because of false positive mammograms. In-Line Imaging proposes to use technology that emits less radiation and produces higher quality images than current mammography devices.
Zephyrus – University of Oklahoma
Zephyrus has created proprietary wind resource mapping algorithms, which when integrated with other mapping data, enhances the value of an analysis package for a site selection process. Based on case studies, Zephyrus’ high resolution maps allow for optimum placement of wind turbines, yielding 3-10 percent increase in power production per turbine.
Glyzen Technologies – University of Nevada-Reno
Glyzen Technologies has developed a process to remove waste generated from the biodiesel industry and converts them into clean and renewable energy sources as well as value added products such as glyceric acid.
Biometric Recognition, Inc., – University of Nevada-Reno
Biometric Recognition, Inc. was created by three accounting graduate students and one computer science doctorate student at the University of Nevada-Reno. The product involves hand-based recognition and authentication systems, and has been developed into a prototype at UNR under the direction of Dr. George Bebis.
InnerVision, LLC – University of Arkansas
InnerVision’s Smart Turbine Blade enables power generation facilities to radically change their maintenance programs, saving them millions of dollars each year on interval-based maintenance. Our Smart Turbine Blade captures real-time diagnostic information from the inside of the turbine and transmits data wirelessly to the outside.
BiologicsMD – University of Arkansas
BiologicsMD is a medication development company started by four University of Arkansas graduate students. The team has relevant experience in drug development, management, marketing, grant writing and regulatory processes. We are commercializing a new patent-pending pre-clinical osteoporosis medication called OsteoFlor. Competitive osteoporosis product classes are limited by side effects and low efficacy at growing new bone. OsteoFlor will increase bone mineral density over twice as much as the leading medication in a single annual dose. Importantly, it has had no observable side effects in preclinical studies. Osteoporosis drug sales reached $2 billion in the U.S. and $9 billion globally in 2008. Based upon industry comparables, we expect pipeline gap, pending patent expirations, and product advantages, OsteoFlor represents a promising opportunity for acquisition by a large pharmaceutical company.
2010 Tri-State Undergraduate Track Competitors
UniPHI – University of Oklahoma
Different standards and software protocols prevent the sharing of healthcare information between providers throughout the United States. UniPHI – the Uniform Platform for Healthcare Information – has developed a technology that will revolutionize the communication of healthcare by standardizing and networking differently formatted medical data stored in databases across the nation.
Swaasth – Oklahoma City University
In the unregulated dietary supplement market, safety and efficacy of botanical components are not assured for consumers. Swaasth will provide high quality, cost-effective, dietary botanical agents and gene-expression-based quality assurance testing through the use of its proprietary Gene Expression Measurement Assay.
Outbox Records, LLC – University of Nevada-Reno
Outbox Records, LLC is a multi-genre music-recording label with an innovative approach to selling and promoting digital music. Outbox’s core strategy is to conduct commerce by focusing on three extremely popular and lucrative business trends: digital music sales, digital social networking and environmentally receptive products and services.
Innovative Protection Systems – University of Nevada-Reno
Innovative Protection Systems is from Reno, Nev., to create advanced handheld protection devices. The product will deter criminals and provide a means to identify/locate perpetrators accurately and efficiently. The business plan illustrates a 5-year progression from local start-up to recognized leader in professional and personal safety equipment.
Arkansas Auto-Fluff – University of Arkansas
An Arkansas company that specializes in the recycling of end of life plastics from the waste stream of the automobile industry. The company is able to combine the two current problems into one profitable solution.
Interactive Convenience Electronics, LLC – University of Arkansas
Our vision is become the premier multi-user touchscreen tabletop computer service provider in the South Central United States. We will strive to provide the computers, software applications, service and expertise necessary to foster the growth of convenience electronics in this fast-paced world where time is money and convenience is golden.