NEW YORK--(COLLEGIATE PRESSWIRE)--Feb 13, 2002--Over 450 teams presenting some 1,500 of the best and brightest students from over 90 of America’s top colleges and universities have registered for the Carrot Capital Business Plan Challenge (“Challenge”), a nationwide business plan competition, that according to its sponsors, Carrot Capital and the Carrot Capital Education Foundation.
“We’re extremely excited about what is shaping up to be one of the biggest business plan competitions ever,” declares David Geliebter, Managing Partner of Carrot Capital. “It clearly shows that, despite all the talk about a troubled economy and fears about the impact it’s having on America’s college campuses, entrepreneurship is alive and well!”
``The Carrot Capital Business Plan Challenge is an outstanding venue for aspiring entrepreneurs to get that all-important head start in business,`` says Bharat Desai, Chairman & CEO, Syntel, Inc., twice named to Forbes` ``Best 200 Small Companies in America`` list, and one of the 135 Challenge qualifying judges.
Other qualifying judges include Jean-Francois Heitz, Deputy CFO of Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT); Carol B. Tome, CFO of Home Depot (NYSE:HD); Kip McClanahan, President and CEO of BroadJump; Lillian Vernon, Chairman and CEO of Lillian Vernon Corporation (AMEX:LVC); Marcel Gani, CFO of Juniper Networks (Nasdaq:JNPR); Anthony E. Hull, CFO of DreamWorks and Joel Appel, President of Orange Glo.
On Saturday, April 27, 2002, 24 finalist teams will be invited to come to New York, all expenses paid, to present their business plans to a Blue Ribbon panel of judges made up of distinguished business and thought leaders, including Udayan Gupta, Wall Street Journal reporter and author of the best seller Done Deals; John Bello, President & CEO of South Beach Beverages (SOBE); Santanu Das, President, CEO & Chairman of TranSwitch Corporation (Nasdaq: TXCC); Michael Schall, CEO of The B. Manischewitz Company and Dan Weinfurter, CEO of Parson Group, Inc. Magazine`s #1 ranked fastest growing private company for 2000.
In addition to $100,000 in cash prizes and funding for the grand prizewinner, one lucky person will be crowned Forbes magazine’s Future Capitalist at a gala dinner and awards ceremony to be held that evening.
For more information on the Challenge, go to www.UpToTheChallenge.com.
About Carrot
The Challenge is sponsored by the Carrot Capital Education Foundation, a non-profit corporation, which, in turn, is associated with Carrot Capital LLC. Carrot Capital is a New York-based venture capital firm that invests in seed and early stage businesses. Carrot Capital seeks out entrepreneurs with brilliant ideas for a business and provides capital and management expertise to help them succeed. For more information, visit the Carrot Capital web site at www.carrotcapital.com.
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