Winners Named in 2007 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition

PROVIDENCE – (May 1, 2007) – A local company that provides software which turns GPS-enabled cell phones into personal security devices on college campuses and a student team from Brown University that is creating a company to help employers lower their health care costs have been named the winners of the 2007 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition.

Campus Guardian Corporation, led by Michael Glier of Jamestown, RI, whose software turns GPS-enabled cell phones into personal security devices that automatically notify college and university security in emergency situations, was named the winner in the entrepreneur track.

Providence Health Solutions, LLC, co-founded by Brown University medical students Brad Weinberg and Rajiv Kumar, a workplace wellness program that relies on a peer approach and exercise competitions to motivate behavior change and weight loss, was the student track winner.

The winners were announced today at a special meeting of the Brown Forum for Enterprise, held in conjunction with Business Expo 2007 at the Rhode Island Convention Center, sponsored by the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce.

Each winner received prizes valued at $62,500, which includes cash and in-kind services from Rhode Island companies and organizations.

“The exceptionally high quality of the finalist entries posed a strong challenge to the judges to select the winners,” said Competition Co-chair Garrett B. Hunter, president of the Business Development Company of Rhode Island. “We congratulate everyone involved—applicants, finalists, winners, and judges—for their commitment in making the competition a success.”

Added Co-Chair Charles Kingdon, associate vice president of Brown Technology Partnerships at Brown University, “Based on the originality, zeal, and potential of all the plans submitted, it’s fair to say Rhode Island will be a big winner in the months and years ahead as those plans become growing companies.”

Prior to the announcement of winners, all six finalists in the competition briefly presented their business proposals to a crowd of several hundred people.

In addition to the winner, presenting in the entrepreneur track were Tizra Inc. led by David Durand of Providence, which is is developing a hosted service that lets publishers successfully sell and distribute print-oriented content online, and Ultimo Measurement, led by Frank Lubrano of Scituate, RI, which makes a non-contact, non-invasive measurement technology for use with liquid and loose solid materials in a process or storage mode.

Also presenting in the student track were Sonicfoam, LLC, led by Lindsay Redmond, a student at Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, which is developing a new way to process polyurethane foam for surfboards that eliminates dependency on toxic chemicals, and Zapdot Interactive LLC, led by Michael Carriere, a computer science student at Syracuse University, which is developing an online subscription service for competitive online gaming teams.

This year’s business plan competition attracted 40 business proposals from seven states, including California, Illinois, and Virginia. Business plans focused on a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, retail, the Internet, and healthcare, in addition to software and biotech firms.

About the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition

The Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, a nonprofit organization that seeks to promote entrepreneurship and the development of start-up and early stage companies in Rhode Island, is supported by 24 local organizations, including public and private companies, universities and colleges, and public agencies.

Complete competition information, including rules, application procedures, guidelines, and business plan resources, is available at www.ri-bizplan.com.