Smith School Announces Winners of Second Annual Undergraduate Business Plan Competition

(l-r) Mark Wellman, director of entrepreneurship programs at Smith, with first-place team members of Exhibit A, LLC, Brandon Bloch and Petar Raketic.

The Robert H. Smith School of Business is pleased to announce the winners of the Second Annual Undergraduate Business Plan Competition. Two teams, Cyprus Precision and Exhibit A, LLC, tied for first place, and each received $800. E-Core Partnership was awarded $400 for third place. The three winning teams presented their business plans in a ceremony held at the Smith School on Dec. 3, 2003.

"The business plan competition was designed specifically for undergraduate students at the university and it provides students with an educational experience aimed at helping them develop a new venture idea," said Mark Wellman, director of academic programs in entrepreneurship at Smith. Wellman, who judged the competition with assistant professor of entrepreneurship Brent Goldfarb, said he was very impressed with the quality of the 17 business plans that were entered into the competition.

Both first-place teams included Smith students who are in the Hinman Campus Entrepreneurship Opportunities (CEOs) program. The Hinman CEOs Program is a unique living-learning entrepreneurship initiative that teaches students how to start their own companies in a high-tech, incubator-like environment. It is a joint initiative of the Smith School and the Engineering Research Center in the A. James Clark School of Engineering.

Exhibit A, LLC, is developing a service for auto safety attorneys that compiles demonstrative evidence on DVDs for presentation in court cases. Exhibit A team members are Petar Raketic, a senior finance and accounting major; Brandon Bloch, a recent university alumnus; and Byron Bloch.

"Just as a student would use PowerPoint to enhance his or her presentation, more and more trial lawyers are beginning to use dynamic presentation tools in the courtroom and during pre-trials that create more understandable and persuasive cases," said Raketic, who along with Brandon Bloch, is in Smith's entrepreneurship citation program.

"We offer a product called Video Expert Reports that consolidates all available materials that plaintiff attorneys use to present a case onto a single DVD. But more importantly, a customized narrative documentary done by a technical expert is formatted onto the DVD that clarifies the complex issues of any given case," said Raketic.

Cyprus Precision is developing a global positioning system (GPS)-based product for athletes that will take measurements during training sessions and provide athletes with information necessary to optimize their performance, giving them a competitive edge in their sport. Earlier this year, Cyprus Precision secured a $12,500 grant from the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA). They also advanced to the semi-final round in the University of Maryland's 2003 Business Plan Competition and plan to compete again in 2004.

Cyprus Precision team members are Eric Jones, a junior mechanical engineering major; Sarah Vogel, a junior marketing and entrepreneurship major; Dennis Cinelli, a junior finance, general business, and entrepreneurship major; and Akil Muralidharan, a junior computer engineering major.

The third place team, E-Core Partnership, is creating a portable power system to charge electronic devices. E-Core Partnership members include Kun Lin, a senior computer engineering major; Ogbonia Orji, a junior electrical engineering and management science and statistics major; and Daniel Senai, a senior aerospace engineering major.

For more information and photo highlights, visit the Hinman CEOs Web site at: http://www.hinmanceos.umd.edu.