Imagine working with a small team for months on a business proposal that will be presented to leading business professionals. Their thumbs-up, thumbs-down decision could be the green light for months more research on finance, product development and marketing for the concept.
It’s not quite NBC’s “The Apprentice,” but the work of six student teams from the University’s Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship will face scrutiny from top Northwest professionals today, with a reward for the winner.
The annual Quest for AdVenture competition, running from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Lillis Business Complex, pits six teams with three students each against one another. The teams pitch business ideas to professionals ranging from venture capitalists to investors.
There are two “tracks” in the competition — technology and services — with three teams on each track. The final round will place one team from each track against the other, with the winning team earning $1,500 and the runner-up receiving $750. Winners also advance to other competitions, nine total this year, that take students from San Diego to Bangkok, Thailand.
“The best kind of education is the junction between classrooms and real-world experience,” said Randy Swangard, director of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship. “We have a chance to take students and fundamentally give them the education of their lives.”
The teams began working on their projects in the Management 610 New Venture Planning class. In the class, the teams work with mentors to develop the financial viability and potential of their products.
Though many teams developed their ideas in June and worked throughout the summer, the University courses are a chance for preparation and evaluation from professionals, Swangard said. The courses
and competition also offer advice on how to create effective professional business proposals.
Students give a 15-minute presentation to six judges from businesses such as Umpqua Bank (who also sponsors the event) and Douglas White & Associates, a consulting firm. After the presentation, teams in the semifinal round have 20 minutes of questions and feedback from the judges. In the final round, the judges can give very blunt and straightforward advice to the surviving teams, Swangard said.
The technology track has three businesses this year. CleanSmart is an environmentally aimed business that seeks to advise businesses on chromated copper arsenate, a hazardous material, and treat and cleanse wood that may have come in contact with the material. MicroModics wants to be the first business to put anti-bacterial and stain-resistant chemicals into carpets that will last as long as the carpet. Finally, Perpetua is proposing its Harvester technology, a battery that offers a long-lasting power source for products — such as the wireless sensor — that have exceptionally high battery replacement maintenance costs.
Wireless sensors is just the market that graduate student Jed Cahill, a Perpetua team member, is aiming for.
“It’s early in the wireless sector field, so we want a piece of the action,” Cahill said. “We’re hoping to get some of that cash.”
His teammate Mason Adair said he remains optimistic about his performance today.
“Our product is almost like science fiction, and it has a lot of coolness appeal,” Adair said. “If we make it in this competition, we go to Portland, which has us compete against the best of the best. There are real business people there who are writing checks for people like us every day.”
The service track has three companies. One, called Ella, focuses on providing apparel for plus-size women, while the other two are sports themed: The Youngest Fan aims to provide interactive golf entertainment for kids at golf tournaments, and VIP Sports Travel will give travelers the inside treatment as they meet with sports contacts and enjoy a sports-themed vacation.
While the teams see promise in their ideas, there are high expectations from professionals and many let-downs in the business, Swangard said.
“The average venture capitalist looks at 1,000 businesses plans in a day and chooses one,” Swangard said.

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