42 teams from around the world to compete in 2015 Rice Business Plan Competition

MEDIA ADVISORY

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Mary Lynn Fernau
713-348-5374
mlfernau@rice.edu

42 teams from around the world to compete in 2015 Rice Business Plan Competition

HOUSTON – (April 9, 2015) – Forty-two teams hailing from some of the world’s top universities will vie for more than $1.6 million in prizes at the 15th annual Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) at Rice University’s Jones Graduate of Business April 16-18. It is the world’s richest and largest student startup competition of its kind and hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and the Jones Graduate School of Business.

Credit: thinkstockphotos.com/Rice University

What: 2015 Rice Business Plan Competition.

When: April 16-18.

Where: McNair Hall, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston.

This year, teams will compete in a new $5,000 online People’s Choice Competition sponsored by Comcast Business that invites people to show their school spirit. Team members, fellow students, alumni, family and friends can vote for their favorite team via a Facebook survey at http://alliance.rice.edu/rbpc. So far, more than 7,000 people have cast their votes in the competition, which closes at noon CDT April 18.

This year’s competitors are the most diverse in the history of the competition and come from top universities around the globe. The teams were chosen from nearly 400 entrants to compete in four categories: life sciences; information technology/Web/mobile; energy/clean technology/sustainability; and other.

The winner will take home a grand prize valued at more than $450,000, including seed funding and the opportunity to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ Marketsite. Judges will select the winner based on the company that represents the best investment opportunity.

A full list of teams is available at http://alliance.rice.edu/rbpc.aspx.

For more information, including a full schedule of events, visit http://alliance.rice.edu/rbpc.aspx.

Members of the media interested in covering the event should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at 713-348-6775 or jfalk@rice.edu.

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The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship is Rice University’s nationally recognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education and the launch of technology companies. It was formed as a strategic alliance of three Rice schools: the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the Wiess School of Natural Sciences and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business. Since inception in 1999, more than 1,500 early-stage companies have presented at the 150+ programs hosted by the Rice Alliance and raised more than $2.8 billion in funding.