42 teams from around the world to compete in 2014 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 2014 Rice Business Plan Competition

HOUSTON – (April 8, 2014) – Forty-two teams hailing from some of the world’s top universities will vie for more than $1.6 million in prizes at the 14th annual Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business April 10-12. It is the world’s richest and largest student startup competition of its kind.

What:             2014 Rice Business Plan Competition.

When:             April 10-12.

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

The teams in this year’s competition were chosen from nearly 600 entrants to compete in four categories: life sciences, information technology/Web/mobile, energy/clean technology/sustainability and social ventures.

The winner will take home a grand prize valued at more than $495,000, including seed funding and the opportunity to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ OMX Marketsite. Judges 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.

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and the Jones Graduate School of Business host the competition.

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, more than 1,500 early-stage companies have presented at the 150+ programs hosted by the Rice Alliance and raised more than $2.9 billion in funding.