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UW-River Falls Seeks Entrepreneurs to Serve as Judges for the New Venture Competition

November 20, 2014--Since mid-October, teams of University of Wisconsin-River Falls students, coached by a faculty or staff member, have been developing ideas and plans for new businesses as part of the first ever New Venture Competition. UW-River Falls is now seeking entrepreneurs to provide feedback on these business ideas and to help select which teams will win the New Venture Competition and ultimately move on the Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament (WBIT). 

The student teams have until December 15 to submit a two-page business plan using the categories included in the increasingly popular Business Model Canvas. Judges will select finalists based on how well the team addresses the nine areas of the Business Model Canvas, as well as the originality of the business idea. Finalists will then be asked to present their business ideas in an exhibit hall where a second set of judges will rate the teams on how well they adapted their idea to feedback from judges and potential customers. 

Entrepreneurs judging the initial two-page plans will be asked to provide their scores and feedback by Jan. 7, 2015. Those interested in judging the exhibit hall presentations will need to be available between 2-5 p.m. on March 4, 2015. 

The top three teams will receive cash prizes up to $1,000 and stipends up to $3,000 to help grow their new business. The top two teams will qualify for the WBIT, an entrepreneurship event open to qualifying teams from two or four-year University of Wisconsin schools across the state (except UW-Madison). The WBIT teaches cutting-edge Lean Startup business development tools, provides business mentorship, and allows participants to compete in a fun format for paid internships and a chance to win $25,000. 

The New Venture Competition is sponsored by the WiSys Technology Foundation, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, and Fiberstar. 

Entrepreneurs interested in serving as judges should contact Danielle Campeau, UW-River Falls Center for Innovation and Business Development director, at 715-425-0643 or email danielle.campeau@uwrf.edu. 

More information on the New Venture Competition, including the Business Model Canvas and Lean Startup model, is available at https://www.uwrf.edu/CIBD.

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