Panasci Competition Winners to be Eligible to Compete in "Super Bowl of World Business-Plan Competition"

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The winning team from the annual Panasci Entrepreneurial Competition of the University at Buffalo School of Management now will be eligible to advance to other competitions to compete for as much as $100,000 in start-up capital in which to launch its business.

The Panasci competition awards a cash prize of $25,000 to the UB student or alumni team that devises and presents the best business plan for launch of a viable business in Western New York. The second-place team is awarded $15,000.

This year, the winning team of the Panasci Competition will advance to the Southwest Business Plan Competition at Rice University in Houston to compete for first, second and third prizes of $15,000, $10,000 and $5,000 respectively.

The first-place winner of the Southwest Business Plan Competition will move to the internationally renowned MOOT CORP finals, which Business Week dubbed "The Super Bowl of World Business-Plan Competition."

The MOOT CORP winner will have the opportunity to receive a $100,000 equity investment. Initially, the investment will be in the form of convertible debt and considered an early bridge loan. To receive this investment, the winning team must be committed to launching its venture.

Created in 2000, the Panasci competition is made possible through a $1 million endowment by UB School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences alumnus Henry A. Panasci, Jr., chairman of Cygnus Management Group and past chairman and CEO of Fay's Inc. The competition is open to all UB students and to UB alumni who graduated in January 1997 or later.

Past winners have used the funding to launch a higher-education marketing firm and an on-call service for equine veterinarians.

The deadline for submission of preliminary applications is Dec. 30. The deadline for submission of business plans is Jan. 30. The announcement of Panasci winners has been moved to March 3, 2003, to accommodate the timeline of the subsequent competitions.

All applicants are required to attend a workshop on business-plan writing to be offered on Jan. 25 from 9-11 a.m., in Room 312 of the Jacobs Management Center on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Application materials and information about the contest can be accessed online at http://www.mgt.buffalo.edu/cel/panasci.shtm or by calling UB's Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at 645-3000.