More Than $50,000 at Stake in Final Round of Technology Entrepreneur Competition

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Four teams of students and alumni from the University at Buffalo will compete for cash and services in excess of $50,000 in the final round of the inaugural Technology Entrepreneur Competition from 4-6 p.m. on May 7 in the Jacobs Executive Development Center, 672 Delaware Ave.

The team that presents the best business plan for a commercially viable technology in the areas of physical and life-sciences will win a prize package that includes $25,000 in seed funding; one year of office space provided by North Forest Development (valued at more than $18,000), one year of business legal services from Jaeckle Fleischmann & Mugel LLP, one year of sales training from Hahn and Associates, one year of accounting services from Fiddler and Company and one year of advertising services from Flynn and Friends.

The Technology Entrepreneur Competition was created by the UB School of Management and the UB Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach to facilitate and promote the commercialization of UB-generated technologies. It also is designed to provide a mechanism for bringing students from different disciplines together with students from the School of Management to maximize their business and scientific potential.

This year's finalists, chosen from among 11 entrants, are drawn from a variety of academic disciplines at UB, including business administration, economics and geography. They were chosen based on the content of their written business plans.

Each of the four teams will deliver 10-minute presentations and will be evaluated on how well they describe the feasibility and marketability of their venture, prove the need for their product or service and present potential sources of capital.

Judging the competition will be Robert H. Fritzinger, president and CEO, MicroLanguage; Thaddeus H. Grasela, Jr., president and CEO, Cognigen Corp.; James Hengst, ZeptoMetrix; Marnie LaVigne, Bufflink, and Brian Pearson, Valuation Advisors, LLC. Winners will be announced at the event shortly after the last presentation.

Those interested in attending the presentations should register with the UB Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at 645-3000 or mgt-cel@buffalo.edu.