UK Happenings

Student Entrepreneurs to Pitch Ideas at UK Venture Challenge

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 25, 2015) Creative and innovative students from across campus will pitch their business concepts at UK Venture Challenge, sponsored by the Innovation Network for Entrepreneurial Thinking (iNET), on Saturday, Feb. 28, in the William T. Young Library UK Athletics Auditorium.

The student teams are competing for $3,000 in scholarship prizes and the right to represent UK at the state competition regionals sponsored by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

The public is invited to vote online for their favorite team and attend the presentations, which will begin at 9:15 a.m. The winners will be announced at 12:30 p.m.

“Venture Challenge provides an opportunity for students to develop entrepreneurial skills and gain valuable experience,” said Dan O’Hair, dean of the UK College of Communication and Information, which hosts iNET.

Prior to their presentations Saturday, the teams submitted their business concept proposals to the judges.

Students competing in the fourth annual UK Venture Challenge include:
 

  • The Bar Hop  Alexander Hamilton (Computer Science), Maged Saeed (Mathematical Economics)
     
  • CAST Computer Aided Scanning Technology Matt Ernst, Jared Hubbard, Divya Nirmala, Lucas Witt (MBA candidates)
     
  • Contango Taylor Deskins (Accounting), Jessica Shelton (Media Arts and Studies)
     
  • Connect.net Cameron Adams (Finance & Economics)
     
  • FinanceU Michael Lewis (Finance & Accounting), TJ Barnett (Finance & Management)
  • re.3 Mark Manczyk (Architecture)
  • Scholastic Capital Christian Alexander Swartz (Finance & Political Science), Samuel Thompson (Finance & Accounting)

The top three winning teams will share $3,000 in scholarship prize money. The 1st place team wins $1,500; 2nd place wins $1,000; and 3rd place wins $500. And, the online top vote getter wins $50.

Judges for this year’s Venture Challenge include Shirie Hawkins, center director and management consultant, Bluegrass Small Business Development Center; Randall Stevens, founder and CEO, ArchVision; and George Ward, executive director, Coldstream Research Campus.

For the fourth straight year, the Bluegrass Business Development Partnership, an economic development partnership that includes the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, Commerce Lexington and the University of Kentucky, will serve as the lead sponsor.

The Gatton College of Business and Economics and the College of Communication and Information are also sponsors.

The Venture Challenge competition is organized by iNET Director Deb Weis with Dean Harvey, the executive director of the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship.

iNET, the Innovation Network for Entrepreneurial Thinking, is hosted by the UK College of Communication and Information. The Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship & the Lexington Office of the Kentucky Innovation Network are part of the UK Gatton College of Business and Economics.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah Geegan, (859) 257-5365; sarah.geegan@uky.edu