Rave Nations was the recipient of $30,000 on Friday after the startup company took first place at the 13th Annual John P. Ellbogen 30K Entrepreneurship Competition.
The competition is meant to help small startup companies gather funds to further their businesses. In addition to Rave Nations, the other finalists were Ky[E]nterprise & Logistics, Eos LABs (Light Activated Biosystems, Rho Zero Fermentation, and Pollution Control Technologies, LLC.
Ky[E]nteprise & Logistics took second place as well as the Student Choice Award, while Pollution Control Technologies took third place.
“We’ve had some changes in the teams over the years so we’re seeing much more technology-based businesses than we used to, but all the teams were very well prepared and had strong business plans and the judges were impressed with all of them,” Rachel Stevens, Ellbogen competition coordinator, said.
Registration begins in October of each fall, making this competition an ongoing process. Typically, the judges receive about 25 to 30 business plans that they sort through and then select the top 10 business teams.
These 10 semi-finalists then go through a screening interview with the judges from which five teams are selected as finalists. The finalists are given the opportunity to work with mentors who help them prepare for their presentations at the competition.
While there are a few who stay on annually, the group of judges differs from year to year. Usually they consist of local community members who have successfully launched their own businesses or have worked in business related industries. Some judges are from the banking industry because of their familiarity with business loans and business plans.
Prior to 2011, this competition awarded $10,000. The change was a result of an endowment from the Ellbogen Foundation. When all of the cash prizes are combined with services provided to the winners, the award totals in $30,000.
The leader of each team must currently be a student at the University of Wyoming. However, other members of the team can be from outside the university.
“We tend to get teams from all over campus. We had teams from the College of Agriculture, College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Business this year,” Stevens said. “And that has really become the norm for this competition, having teams from all over the university.”
