More than $250,000 awarded to four IU student-led startups as part of inaugural BEST competition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2012
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Four technology-based businesses led by Indiana University students will receive funding from the inaugural Building Entrepreneurs in Software and Technology, or BEST, competition.
Ornicept, was at a later stage in development and had larger capital needs than envisioned by the BEST competition. The investors felt strongly that it was important to support its growth and decided to provide a smaller investment aimed at helping the company reach its ultimate funding goal. Ornicept is a research-based company that develops remote avian surveying tools for the energy industry, led by School of Informatics and Computing student Russell Conard of Lafayette, Ind. The BEST investors are providing Conard and business partner Justin Otani, originally from Gresham, Ore., a student in both the Kelley School and the Maurer School of Law, with capital to assist their efforts to raise a round of financing over the summer.
“The ideas presented in the final round were truly exceptional,” said Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder and investor in the competition. “There were a wide range of concepts that had great potential for success. With the quality of students here at Indiana University, it was difficult to identify just a few to receive funding.”
Bobby Schnabel, dean of the School of Informatics and Computing, and Donald F. Kuratko, director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the Kelley School, and a group of 11 investors selected the winners after listening to the final presentations of each team’s business plan.
“As a group who’ve taken an entrepreneurial path ourselves, the investors know and appreciate the challenges that lie ahead for these fledgling companies,” said investor Mary Delaney, CEO of Luceo Solutions. “I’m honored to be involved with BEST, to have the opportunity to share my experiences and expertise with these talented young people.
“We have high expectations for the four companies we’ve selected, and we feel they are positioned for success. It will be fun to watch them grow and change,” she said.
Schnabel declared BEST a tremendous success, for both the winners and for Indiana University.
“We were pleased with both the quality of ideas put forth throughout the entire competition and with the level of involvement the investors gave to us,” he said. “In the long run, the mentoring the teams received from such a savvy group of investors may be more valuable than the capital they’re providing the startups. In coming years, this is the type of activity that will continue to set Indiana University apart, establishing it as a place where talented students can foster and grow their creative ideas into real-world entities.”
The BEST competition was launched in September. A group of investors — Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder; Scott Dorsey, CEO and co-founder of ExactTarget; Mary Delaney, CEO of Luceo Solutions; Chris Baggott, Compendium Software chairman and ExactTarget co-founder; Cheng Wu, chairman of Azuki Systems; Scott Etzler, CEO of Intercall; David Ferguson, partner at Ferguson and Ferguson; Steve Ferguson, chairman of the Cook Group; Mat Orrego, CEO of Cornerstone Information Systems; Eric Taylor, CEO of Taylor Building Corp.; and Tony Armstrong, CEO of the IU Research and Technology Corp. — created a $1.1 million fund to support a competition for IU Bloomington students who submit plans for a startup company focused on Internet and software technology.
Excerpted from http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/22211.html