Chinese Entrepreneurs Win More than $50,000 in Cash and Prizes in International Business Plan Competition
Beijing, China & College Park, Md. –
October 29, 2008 – The University of Maryland’s
Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced
the final winners of the fourth annual China
Business Plan Competition. The announcement puts a
cap on the year-long contest, which began with more
than 200 entries that judges narrowed to 20
semi-finalists before selecting five finalist teams.
Robert Krapfel, associate dean of MBA programs at
the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School
of Business, named the winners at a final event and
awards ceremony in Beijing at Peking University’s
Guanghua School of Management. The program was
opened with remarks from Dr. Xia Yingqi, deputy
director of Zhongguancun Science Park. The winners
included:
$25,000 grand prize winner, CreditEase, and $15,000 second-prize winner, Vendiamax. CreditEase facilitates peer-to-peer loans and Vendiamax combines vending machine services with point-of-purchase advertising. Winners were selected from the five finalist teams. Each team delivered presentations of their businesses and obtained feedback from a panel of judges in front of an audience.
Ten $1,000 Young China Entrepreneur Awards. In a separate category just for current students from Chinese universities, individuals were invited to develop and enter a business idea. Those selected presented a 5-minute pitch to a panel of judges to compete for $1,000 cash prizes.
“People’s Choice Award” The Smith School opened up online voting via its competition partner, Hexun.com. Visitors to the site selected their favorite team – CreditEase -- from among the five competition finalists.
“My congratulations to all of the participants – they are all winners,” said G. “Anand” Anandalingam, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “Entrepreneurial traits such as creativity and flexibility are vital in a world economy that is driven by technology and new venture creation. Whether these teams go on to own successful businesses or to work for major multinational corporations, they will greatly benefit from the skills they hone today.”
For the full press release, please visit the Smith School's website.
2008 Dingman Delegation to China
"The Communist China as we thought we
knew it is 'dead.'
Standing in Tiananmen Square, the site of the 1989 Student Protests, it was amazing to see the portrait of Mao Ze Dong hanging across the street of the entrance to Forbidden City, amongst a sea of people dressed in fashionable western attire from Armani or Gucci clothing to Dolce and Gabbana handbags. You might ask yourself how is this possible? The year was 1979 and Deng Xiaoping, then leader of the People's Republic of China famously quipped '...it is glorious to be rich,' pursued a capitalist open-market policy to help initiate China's rise as an economic powerhouse and leader in the global marketplace.
As a part-time MBA student, I was privileged with the opportunity to represent the Robert H. Smith School of Business' Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship to help assist with the annual China Business Plan Competition (at Beida University) and learn more about the cultural, trade and intellectual partnerships between the United States and China. Our agenda was jam-packed with various business meetings and tours of companies in Beijing and Dalian. We met some of the top business leaders of China from Benson Tam of Fidelity Asia Ventures to Matthew Estes of BabyCare Co., as well as Diplomat Conrad Wong, Intellectual Property Rights Attache, of the United States Government/Department of Commerce. Also, we scored a very cool tour of the Lenovo Manufacturing facilities; unfortunately, we were unable to receive a free laptop, but as a consolation prize we did see and hold an Olympic torch from the 2008 Summer Games.
One fascinating highlight of the trip was a visit to a 'tech-focused' high school where bright and eager teenage students from impoverished areas of China are able to receive an education in a specific trade, helping them learn useful skills and pursue a career in job opportunities that would have otherwise been unavailable to them. Smith Alumnus and former Dell CEO Kevin Rollins helped contribute to the students intellectual development by donating money and Dell PCs for their educational benefit.
During some of our down-time we were able to visit the Great Wall, the Bird's Nest and Water Cube Olympic venues, and utilize our bargaining skills at the Silk and Dirt Markets. The students were provided the opportunity to interact not only with each other but also with the Dingman Center's staff (Asher Epstein, Melissa Carrier, Sara Moon), Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (John LaPides, Steve Roth, Neil Selvin, S. Tien Wong), Board of Advisors (Paul Bowen) and Associate Dean (Bob Krapfel), learning so much from their insights and experiences in both the academic and applied business worlds.
Although we had to be up bright and early each day, and generally not able to go to bed until midnight, the excitement and opportunity to learn more about international business and seeing first-hand the transformational changes occurring to China was well worth the lack of 'shut-eye.' I highly recommend Smith School students to take advantage of this opportunity and be ready to immerse yourself in an intense week of business learning and cultural immersion for what will be an amazing experience."
-G. Nagesh Rao, Part-Time MBA Candidate (DC Campus)
How Do I...Get Some of That Venture Capital?"...In this new economic climate, many entrepreneurs are looking for alternatives to banks for their funding needs. I posted an interview last week with a venture capitalist who specializes in investing in consumer products, services and small retailers. In this second installment, I ask an expert what a business needs to know if it wants to pursue venture capital.
Melissa Carrier is the director of investments and social venturing at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship, part of the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. She counsels start-ups and small businesses in their efforts to connect with private investors.
Small Business Blog:
What are the job duties of the director of
investments and social venturing?
Melissa Carrier: I manage a program called
Capital Access Network. It's dedicated to connecting
D.C. metro area entrepreneurs with private
investors. (CAN helps firms in Maryland, Virginia,
Delaware and D.C.) We help firms seek the right
amount of capital and find the right types of
capital whether it's equity investment or friends
and family, and we help them pitch their business.
Once [a company has] decided to seek outside
investors, it's important to know how to prepare
your business for outside scrutiny; you've got a lot
of opinions coming at you.
SBB: Many entrepreneurs are confused about
the difference between angel investors and venture
capitalists.
Carrier: Angels are high net-worth
individuals. They typically are cashed out
entrepreneurs or ran start-ups previously. They want
to invest their own money. They either want to give
back to the entrepreneurial community or be part of
that start-up experience, but some want to make
money. We've found they invest on average about
$33,000 per deal. A venture capitalist is an
institutional investor. They're making bets on high
growth companies that they hope will have a sizable
return. They're investing at much larger amounts -
usually $2 million and up. VCs are also investing
other people's money such as funds from limited
partners like pension funds or institutional
investors..."
For the rest of the transcript
and article, please visit The Washington Post's
website.