NCET recently completed the 2009 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition and awarded over $100,000 to Nevada’s best and brightest college and university teams.

Please enjoy the photos of the oral presentations on April 22, 2009, and the Awards Dinner on April 23, 2009.  We’ve also included the evening’s opening video to introduce the students and the competition.

Award Winners Award Dinner Oral Presentations

Photos by Susan Mantle Photography

Video by iMed Design

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Graduate Winners

First Place ($20,000 prize) UACD – University of Southern Nevada

Second Place ($10,000 prize) Northern Nevada Nanotubes – UNR

Third Place ($5,000 prize) Dine Around Town – UNR

Undergraduate Winners

First Place ($20,000 prize) Las Vegas Vertical Farms – UNLV

Second Place ($10,000 prize) Carbon Gold – UNR

Third Place ($5,000 prize) MJ’s Pizzeria – TMCC

Lt. Governor’s Award Winners

Presented to Best Energy-Related Business Plan

Undergraduate Winner ($5,000 prize) – Carbon Gold – UNR

Graduate Winner ($5,000 prize) – Appliance2.0 Solutions – UNR

NCED Commissioners’ Award

Presented to Business Plan that Best Addresses Economic Development Needs of Rural Nevada ($2,500 Prize)

Clean Bean – UNR

Complete list of team members, faculty advisors and business descriptions here

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Awards Dinner and Ceremony Thursday, April 23 Peppermill Hotel, Reno

Please join us to recognize Nevada’s best and brightest college and university students as we announce the winners of the 2009 Donald W. Reynolds Business Plan Competition.

The evening’s proceeds benefit the Governor’s Cup Award Fund. 

“The Governor’s Cup is the best capstone course for a business degree. I used skills from almost every one of my undergraduate classes.”

Robert Anderson – Efficient Processes

Governor Jim Gibbons – Guest of Honor and Keynote Speaker
Lt. Governor Brian K. Krolicki – Master of Ceremonies

Cocktails – 5:30 pm
Dinner and Awards – 6:30 pm
Reception – 8:30 pm

Individual Tickets – $100
Tables of Eight – $750

Or to Emily Somerville at Emily@NCET.org or (775) 853-4226 / (702) 944-9722

Please consider donating to the
Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Fund
Details here

For sponsorship information, please contact Dave Archer at (775) 315-7635

“This was the most time consuming course in my college career, but the most valuable. It taught me a lot about the process of developing a company and following through with an idea. The work environment was the best simulation of a small company. I now work in a small start up and am much better prepared for what I now face.”

Annie Vranizan – PDT

NCET is an independent 501(c)3 and is not affiliated with the State of Nevada

While our state is facing numerous economic challenges, I’d like to recognize a group of Nevadans who are proactively developing solutions and devising innovative new ways to conduct business in the Silver State. Who are these forward-thinking, economic-minded, burgeoning future business leaders? None other than our very own college and university students.

NCET, Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, recently announced that a record 56 business plans have been submitted from colleges and universities across the state for the fifth annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Collegiate Business Plan Competition. This competition brings together students from a wide range of post-secondary educational fields and encourages them to compete for cash prices totaling $110,000. The goal: Develop innovative new business concepts in Nevada.

Not only are more business plans being submitted for this year’s Governor’s Cup, more students are taking part in the competition as well. Ninety-eight undergraduate students from academic institutions all across the state represent the 32 undergraduate business plans, and 76 graduate students have teamed up to submit 24 graduate business plans. Read more:

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Eight teams from the University of Nevada, Reno, and Truckee Meadows Community College are among the 12 finalists in this years Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Business Plan competition. Undergraduate finalists include:

• Carbon Gold, a team from UNR that’s pitching a technology to convert carbon dioxide into fuel for vehicles.

• MJ’s Pizzeria, a TMCC team that’s presenting plans for a new pizza and bar concept. • Muse Interactive, a UNR team that developed plans to distribute software that’s educational and entertaining.

• SolAir Solar, a UNR team that’s pitching an affordable solar system for residential heating and air conditioning.

Graduate finalists include:

• Dine Around Town, a UNR team that’s developed a culinary tour service.

• Energy Expansion & Design, a UNR team that’s developed a system to boost automotive gas mileage and reduce carbon emissions.

• Northern Nevada Nanotubes, a UNR team with plans to capture the nanotube market.

• Solar Cents, which has designed a solar system for pre-heating of household water.

In addition, a team of UNR graduate students known as Appliance2.0 Solutions is among the finalists for the competition’s Lt. Governor’s Award. The award recognizes business plans that use renewable of efficient energy technologies, and the UNR team has developed a system to reduce electric consumption by household appliances.

The student teams will present their plans to a panel of judges on April 22, and the winners will be announced at an April 25 dinner at the Peppermill.

Winning teams in the undergraduate and graduate business plan competitions will receive $20,000 first prizes, $10,000 second prizes and $5,000 third prizes.

The competition overseen by Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology is sponsored by The Donald W. Reynolds Foundation of Las Vegas.

All great endeavors start with a plan. Or at least they should. That’s one of the key ideas behind the 2009 Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup, which will reward several of the brightest young minds in Nevada’s schools for demonstrating their business planning acumen.

"It’s really a way to demonstrate to students that entrepreneurship is a viable career option," said Dave Archer, chief executive officer of Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, which is presenting the event.

"So much of what you learn in college prepares you to be an employee and, in some cases, a manager, but not so much on becoming an entrepreneur."

Plans from this year’s finalists range from a business specializing in culinary tours to a high-tech proposal for converting carbon dioxide emissions to clean energy. Last year’s competition produced an list of winners whose proposals reflected a firm grasp of high-tech fields such as biotechnology and engineering. Winning projects included eco-friendly waste management, creative use of cellular technology and producing drinking water from the air. Read full story:

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