NextBigThing Competition
Entry deadlines have passed but look for these competitions again in Fall 2008. If you missed out on participating in NextBigThing, you can still enter the DePaul New Venture Challenge, an annual business plan competition open to the DePaul community. Visit cec.depaul.edu/dnvc for more information.
Here’s a recap of the 2007 programs:
DePaul students from CTI and the College of Commerce participated in two new business idea competitions, NextBigThing@CTI and NextBigThing@Commerce, presented by the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center and the Center for Creativity and Innovation. Students submitted a one-page summary of their business ideas, and the top teams were selected as finalists to present their ideas to a panel of judges.
The teams’ ideas were evaluated on creativity, innovativeness, how well-defined its market was, and how well it addressed customer needs. Judges also took into consideration the finalists’ ability to maintain their interest and respond to their questions about the products/services.
NextBigThing@CTI
Four finalist teams of CTI students competed in NextBigThing@CTI on Friday, October 26.
After four great presentations, Kelly Noah, a Human-Computer Interaction Graduate Student in CTI, won the competition for her idea Finabler – a unique and innovative tool targeted to twenty-somethings to ease the burden and often daunting task of managing personal finances. She came up with the idea after realizing existing financial management programs were packed with features she didn’t need, and she wanted something more practical for her stage in life – something that many people in their twenties and thirties can relate to.
In addition to having her idea awarded as the NextBigThing, Kelly won nearly $1,000 in prizes including a new Apple iPod touch and a copy of Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007, compliments of Microsoft.
Other finalists included:
Team: Tech Camp
Idea: New approach to developing children’s technology courses.
Member: Michal Mordarski
Team: Welcome to Juniper Hills
Idea: Interactive website that brings video storytelling to homes via the internet
Members: Stephanie Jeter and Lorena Paredes
Team: Ed Mob Grades Tracking System
Idea: New application to communicate progress of students to their parents.
Members: Amit Shah, Sheldon Gray, Erin Vander Laan, Monica Towels
NextBigThing@Commerce
Five finalist teams of Commerce students competed in NextBigThing@Commerce on Tuesday,
November 6.
Khalid Abdulghaffar, Christopher Wittenberg, and Jevgenijs Kakstovs won the competition for their idea ValueUp – a web-based intermediary that links consumers undertaking home improvement projects with expert contractors. Once consumers propose projects and post budget limitations, contractors bid on the jobs, resulting in a cost-effective solution for the consumer.
ValueUp won $250 in Best Buy gift cards, Business Plan Pro Software, and a copy of Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007, compliments of Microsoft.
Other finalists included:
Team: Fortis Fortuna Adiuvat (FFA)
Idea: Cutting edge hedge fund with a unique operational character
Members: Geovanni Concepcion, Jessica Kuhr
Team: Partnership for Winter Wear Assistance
Idea: Discount program for international students in need of winter apparel
Members: Ashwin Anandani, Alejandro Gastelum
Team: Palindrome Apparel
Idea: Retailer of earth-friendly products
Member: Alla Ioffe
Team: Driver’s Aid
Idea: Device to assist passenger and emergency vehicles
Member: Eric Kurdziel