The Fowler Business Concept Challenge, which awarded $39,000 in scholarships to graduate and undergraduate students at the University of St. Thomas in 2011, now is accepting submissions.
The challenge asks students to develop a business concept that has the potential to become a viable high-growth business. The team that submits the winning business concept in each of two divisions (undergraduate and graduate) will receive $10,000 in St. Thomas scholarships.
Each team should create and submit a five-page description of its concept for a new business that explains the product or service, the target customers, the value proposition to those customers, and the potential market, including size. The deadline is Friday, Oct. 5.
Selected finalists will be asked to prepare a 20-minute presentation of their concept and present it to a distinguished panel of judges drawn from the entrepreneurial, business and investment communities Oct. 19. Teams in each division will be awarded scholarships based on their presentations. The awards are:
- $10,000 scholarship to first-place
- $5,000 scholarship to runner-up
- $2,500 scholarship to second runner-up
"The Fowler Business Concept Challenge was an incredibly rewarding experience for me – it really made me step it up a notch and challenge many of my assumptions about Cognific," remarked Solome Tibebu, the 2011 undergraduate winner. "The process of putting together the proposal really helped me with organization, planning and finally believing that I can make this thing happen!"
Launched in 2009, the annual event is named in recognition of Ron Fowler ’66, chairman and CEO of Liquid Investments Inc., whose generous gift to the university has made this and future competitions possible.
For more information about the Fowler Business Concept Challenge, visit the Schulze School of Entrepreneurship Fowler Business Concept Challenge website and the Fowler Facebook Page.
