Still Time to Register for UK Venture Challenge

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 14, 2014) — Student entrepreneurs still have time to register for the UK Venture Challenge competition on March 1. The deadline to submit write-ups on their ideas for new innovations, products or services is end of the day Feb. 19.

Students will present to a panel of judges at the James. F. Hardymon Theater in the Davis Marksbury Building March 1. They are competing for $3,000 in scholarship prizes and the right to represent UK at the state competition, Idea State U, in April.

This year’s lead judging panel includes: Lee T. Todd Jr., entrepreneur and former UK president; Alan Stein, entrepreneur, president and CEO of the SteinGroup, and owner of the Lexington Legends and the Omaha Storm Chasers; and Stephanie Herron, entrepreneur and new president and CEO of the Markey Cancer Foundation.

The public in invited to vote online for their favorite venture. The top vote-getter wins $50. The public is also invited to attend the presentations on March 1, which begin at 9 a.m. Winners will be announced at approximately 2:30 p.m.

Sponsors are providing $3,000 in scholarship prize money that will be shared by the winning teams. The lead sponsor is the Bluegrass Business Development Partnership, including the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Commerce Lexington, and the University of Kentucky. New sponsors this year are the Gatton College of Business and Economics and the College of Communication and Information.

The UK Venture Challenge competition is organized by iNET, the Innovation Network for Entrepreneurial Thinking hosted by the College of Communication and Information, with the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship / Lexington Innovation and Commercialization Center in the Gatton College of Business and Economics, and the Big Blue Starters student entrepreneur organization.

 MEDIA CONTACT: Deb Weis at debweis@uky.edu