The DePaul New Venture Challenge

Three teams competed in the DePaul New Venture Challenge finals on Thursday, May 10, 2007. Each team had 30 minutes to present the business concepts they have been refining over the past six months of the competition, and then took 30 minutes of difficult questions from the panel of judges.

Taking home the grand prize of $10,000 cash was Dance Network, captained by Rania El-Sorrogy, a College of Commerce senior. Dance Network is a company focused on providing dance enthusiasts with a wide-range of dance-related programming, from local performances to wide release movies. Initially, the programming will be delivered via a video-streaming website, with the ultimate goal of launching a cable network.

“What stood out about Rania’s business plan was her obvious intense preparation and follow-through on the details,” said Dr. Harold Welsch, DePaul University’s Coleman Chair in Entrepreneurship and one of the five judges. He added: “The competition was an outstanding success. The three finalists were brilliant minds with innovative projects.”

First runner-up was Valkyrie Professional Search, captained by John Reh, a Kellstadt 2006 MBA alumnus. Second runner-up was Quadmarket.com, captained by Bodee Kittikamron, a Kellstadt MBA student.

In addition to Dr. Welsch, the judges were: Jeff Aronin, CEO of Ovation Pharmaceuticals; David Gamperl, CEO of Blueleaf Lending; Glenn Husa, Vice President of Midwest Bank; and David Kalt, CEO of OptionsXpress.

The DePaul New Venture Challenge is a business plan competition for teams headed by DePaul students or recent alumni. This year, thirty-one teams entered the competition and progressed through three rounds: a 5-page venture summary, a 25-page business plan, and an hour-long business presentation. This year’s teams ranged from tech start-ups to gourmet food stores to non-profit organizations.

Anyone interested in participating in the 2007-2008 competition as a team, advisor or judge is encouraged to visit cec.depaul.edu/signup to join the DNVC mailing list.