University of Maryland and Mtech are holding their annual 75K Business Plan Competition. This year marks the competition's eleventh year.
Dean Cheng, Director of Mtech's venture program, said, "Winning the competition, which is judged by leaders in the region's entrepreneurial community, is some measure of validation that a company's technology and plan to execute as a business are promising."
Past winners, most notably Lurn Inc and Squarespace, have since become some of the fastest growing companies in the U.S.
Lurn Inc founder and CEO Anik said, "Being a winner in this competition was huge for us for many reasons. We were dealing with professionals that really know what they're talking about - their insights are great. Winning was a great validation."
The competition fits into a larger economic picture. Cheng said. "The Business Plan Competition on its own is an excellent educational and networking tool for the teams that enter. However, our bigger goal is to help create high growth, successful companies based on the numerous inventions and innovations that come out of the half billion dollars of research here at UMD each year."
Writer: Ryan LeRoy Kleeberger
Sources: Dean Cheng, UMD, Mtech, Anik Singal