April 10, 2009 

MEDIA CONTACTS: Ellen Yui
301-270-8571; ellenyui@yuico.com
Michelle Sherrard
202-994-1423; mcs1@gwu.edu

LOCAL ENTREPRENEURS COMPETE IN FINAL ROUND OF FIRST-EVER GW BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
FOR SEED MONEY TOTALING $30,000
APRIL 18, 2009

EVENT: 

Some of the area's most inventive entrepreneurs will compete for seed money in the first annual GW Business Plan Competition. In this final round, four teams will present their business ideas to a panel of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders and walk away with investments totaling $30,000. 
 
WHEN:  

Saturday, April 18, 2009; 9am - Noon
 
WHERE: 

The George Washington University School of Business
Kendall Auditorium, Duques Hall
2201 G St., NW, Washington, D.C. (Corner of  22nd and G streets)
Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro (Orange and Blue lines)
Parking available on the street; at the University Parking Garage, 22nd and H streets; and the Marvin Center Garage, entrance on H St. between 21st and 22nd streets)
 
RSVP:  

This event is free and open to the public. Media should RSVP to Ellen Yui at 301-270-8571 or ellenyui@yuico.com.
 
BACKGROUND:  
 
Highlighting their support of entrepreneurship as the lifeblood of business, and small business as the backbone of the U.S. economy, the GW School of Business and the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence have launched an innovative business plan competition that will culminate on Saturday, April 18.  Cultivating the world's future entrepreneurs, the competition will put real seed money into the hands of four winning teams led by undergraduate and graduate students at GW.  Four separate awards totaling $30,000 will finance each winning business plan, including a $20,000 prize for first place.

During this final round of the competition, four winning teams will compete to have their start-ups funded, launching four new entrepreneur-led business ventures.  The four teams of finalists, who have survived three rounds of cuts from an original pool of over 200 entries over the two-month competition, will present their business ideas to a distinguished panel of successful entrepreneurs and business leaders, in a "real world" presentation format modeled after venture capital presentations.

Healthcare entrepreneur Richard Scott and Annette Scott are funding this innovative program for ten years with their donation of $300,000, ensuring a decade of innovation from some of the brightest and most creative minds in Washington, D.C. 

The George Washington University Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence plays a central role in promoting entrepreneurship education to both undergraduate and graduate students. Through its faculty, graduate teaching fellows and partners, the center provides a knowledge sharing platform for many, both inside and outside the University, to study entrepreneurship from a local to a global perspective. The center offers excellent opportunities for research, in which knowledge and methods of different fields can be merged, where due diligence coupled with creativity and innovation scholarship may reach fruition not otherwise possible.

GW's School of Business prepares students for professional management careers. The depth and variety of its academic and professional programs, including five specialized master's programs, provide rich opportunities for students in the school's core Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration, and doctoral programs. GW's undergraduate- and graduate-level international business programs rank among the world's best. 

For more information about the Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence, visit www.cfee.gwu.edu.
For more information about the GW School of Business, visit www.business.gwu.edu.
For more news about The George Washington University, visit www.gwnewscenter.org.

- GW -