Ideas for an app to revolutionize the scope of social, platonic meet-ups and a wearable bone mineral density monitor to detect weakness in bones were the grand prizewinners of Fairfield University”™s Business Plan Competition”™s “venture” and “social” tracks.
Prize money totaling $20,000 was split among the winners. Two-hundred people attended the final phase of Fairfield University”™s third annual student business plan competition at the Charles F. Dolan School of Business.
The VentureOut app plan ”” facilitating friendly meetings ”” won $7,000. The BoneSmart bone density detector plan won $5,000.
Ideas for a golf course management system and a website to donate textbooks to help students who can”™t afford them were the runners-up in the venture and social tracks, receiving $3,000 and $2,500, respectively.
The prize money will go to further develop the winning ideas.
“The winners will get a shot at being clients of FAME (the Fairfield University Accelerator & Mentoring Enterprise) business incubator program,” Donald E. Gibson, dean of the Dolan School of Business, told the audience. FAME opened last year.
The finalists included a mix of undergraduate students from Fairfield University”™s Dolan School of Business, the School of Engineering and College of Arts & Sciences who pooled knowledge and skills to develop viable business plans.
Faculty members served as advisers to student teams as did business professionals and alumni.
David Murray, vice president for integrated sales and marketing at national cinema advertising company NCM Media Networks, was the program”™s mentor coordinator.
