Runners-Up to Receive Prizes in 2008 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition

PROVIDENCE - (Oct. 4, 2007) - Runners up in the 2008 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition will win cash prizes and professional services for the first time since the competition was established in 2000, it was announced today.

Two runners-up in the entrepreneur track and two in the student track will each win $5,000 in cash and another $10,000 in legal and accounting services. Previously, only the winners in each track won prizes.

“The increased level of funding we received this year from our sponsors let us provide prizes to all six finalists,” said Competition Co-chair Charles Kingdon, associate vice president of Brown technology partnerships at Brown University. “We’re tremendously grateful to all our sponsors, for their support is what enables the competition to go forward.”

The value of all prizes to be awarded in the 2008 competition will total $150,000, up from $125,000 last year. Winners in each track will receive $25,000 in cash and legal, accounting, and consulting services valued at $20,000. Full information is available by clicking here.

Two New Sponsors Join 2008 Competition

The Rhode Island Commodores and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation recently agreed to support the 2008 competition, it was also announced.

“This brings us up to 30 sponsors, the most we have ever had,” said Co-chair Garrett Hunter, president of the Business Development Company of Rhode Island. “It’s a strong statement of support for our goal to encourage entrepreneurial activity in Rhode Island.”

Stephen Lane Joins Roster of Judges

The competition also announced that Stephen Lane, co-founder and CEO of Item Group, a leading design firm based in Providence, will serve as a judge in the 2008 competition. Active in the Rhode Island design, entrepreneurial, and venture communities, he is an adjunct faculty member at the Rhode Island School of Design in the department of industrial design. Lane holds bachelor degrees in industrial design and in fine arts from RISD.

Lane joins nine other distinguished business development experts who all have volunteered to judge this year’s competition.

Sponsors of the 2008 Competition

Sponsors of the 2008 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition include: Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP, Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., Ltd., Seyfarth Shaw, Brown University, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, LLP, Embolden Design, and Nortek, Inc.

Also supporting the competition are: Brown Forum for Enterprise, Business Development Company of Rhode Island, Cherrystone Angel Group, CVS Caremark, Federal Electronics, Inc., Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, Johnson and Wales University, Point Judith Capital, Providence Business News, Rhode Island Commodores, Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation, Bryant University, Citizens Bank of Rhode Island, Item Group, Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage, Inc., Heartlab, Naval Undersea Warfare Center, RDW Group, Salve Regina University, Smith Barney, Software Quality Associates, The Employers Association, and University of Rhode Island.

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