Students from Cal State San Bernardino and 50 other universities in the United States, Canada, Scotland, Croatia and Bangladesh are coming to Texas Christian University Friday and Saturday, April 21-22, to pitch ideas for businesses that make a difference while making a profit.
They’ll vie for more than $70,000 in cash prizes to make those ideas a reality, thanks to TCU’s Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition®.
Values and Ventures® is not like any other college business plan competition. Students must present a plan for a for-profit business that benefits the community, environment or a specific population. Past winners include mattress recycling plants that employ former inmates, affordable banking kiosks for underserved populations and human-powered grain machines for remote areas of Africa.
This is the seventh year for the competition, presented by the TCU Neeley Entrepreneurship Center. Co-founders are Dallas real estate and technology entrepreneurs Nancy Tartaglino Richards and Lisa Barrentine of First Preston HT.
More than 100 business professionals serve as judges and mentors.
All 51 teams will compete Friday morning, April 21, in seven simultaneous flights. The top team from each flight will advance to the finals Saturday, April 22. Second-place teams from each flight will compete in a lightning round Friday afternoon. The top two teams from the lightning round will also compete in the finals on Saturday. All teams will compete in an elevator pitch competition Saturday.
Winners will be announced Saturday afternoon.
Track how CSUSB is doing in the competition by following the action and awards announcements on Twitter @NeeleySchoolTCU with the hashtag #valuesandventures, and on the Neeley School of Business Facebook page (search @TCUNeeleySchool).
2017 participating schools:
| Bangladesh University of Professionals
California Lutheran University California Polytechnic University, Pomona California State University, San Bernardino Emory University Florida Atlantic University Florida State University George Washington University Georgetown University Grand Valley State University James Madison University JJ Strossmeyer University Johns Hopkins University Kennesaw State University Loyola Marymount University Michigan State University Millikin University North Carolina State University Ohio University Prairie View A& M University Royal Roads University Saint Leo University Siena College Southern Methodist University St. Mary’s University Tarleton State University
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Texas Christian University
United States Air Force Academy University of Alabama University of Arizona University of California-Irvine University of Central Oklahoma University of Chicago University of Florida University of Houston University of Iowa University of Michigan University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill University of Oklahoma University of Pikeville University of Strathclyde University of Tennessee University of Texas at Arlington University of Texas at Austin University of Texas at Dallas University of Virginia University of Western Ontario University of Wisconsin- Whitewater Wake Forest University Walsh University Washington University in St. Louis
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