Students have the opportunity to put their business acumen to the test in BYU’s 13th annual Student Entrepreneur of the Year competition this fall. If testing entrepreneurial skills isn’t enough, this year’s prize money has tripled previous years, totaling $60,000 in cash and in-kind services.
Students of all majors are encouraged to apply for the competition. Applications are due Sept. 17, 2004 in 470 Tanner Building for the contest that will take place Oct. 1, 2004. To apply, students must submit a short description of their business and personal qualifications as well as an application. Applications and competition guidelines are available online at ace.byu.edu.
Entries go through two rounds of judging. The preliminary round selects the top five businesses to be presented before a panel of judges in the final round. Judging in this round is done by professional entrepreneurs participating in the Fall Entrepreneur Founders’ Conference. The student competition is the pillar event of the conference through which many venture capitalists and entrepreneurs are exposed to students and their companies.
During the conference, students and professionals also have the opportunity to team up in small groups and participate in a case study. Students and professionals create solutions for a case and compete against other teams for prizes.
The Student Entrepreneur of the Year competition began in 1992 as a way for the Center for Entrepreneurship to recognize students who start their own businesses while still in school rather than waiting until after graduation.
“The Student Entrepreneur of the Year contest provides the opportunity for students to network with other students and professionals who are doing the same things: starting and building businesses,” says Linda Rich, program director for the Center for Entrepreneurship. “The competition offers participants the benefits of professional mentoring which, once out of school, costs hundreds of dollars.”
The competition is sponsored by the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE) and hosted by the Association of College Entrepreneurs (ACE). Prize money and services come entirely from contributions to the CFE.
Past winners include the founders of 1-800 CONTACTS, DearElder.com, Nickelcade, The Quarry and DownEast Outfitters.
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, organizational behavior and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
Writer: Cari Thomas (801) 422-1512