Top College Entrepreneurs to Unveil Plans

Twenty entrepreneurship students put their innovative business ideas to the test, hoping to secure one of four final spots in the 22nd Annual Westmont Collegiate Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 5 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge at Westmont’s Kerrwood Hall. The competition is free and open to the public.

Eight student venture teams submitted business plans for preliminary screening, but only the top four have been invited to make formal presentations at the final competition. The 20 students are enrolled in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Development, a class taught by David Newton, Westmont professor of entrepreneurial finance.

“Students get a real-life experience pitching a start-up venture to highly seasoned entrepreneurs and investors,” says Newton, who founded the college’s entrepreneurship program in 1990.

Students have been developing their business plans since Aug. 29. The final four ventures are: Rhee Corporation, a college dorm-furniture cooperative; CRUX, a multi-person discount service for small businesses; Pacific Coast Skateboards, which provides longboard skateboards for Hong Kong commuters; and the Outdoor Exchange, a website to purchase and sell sporting goods.

The outside judging panel includes: Susan Block, investment banker at Block-Bowman & Associates; Eli Eisenberg, founder and CEO of Straight Line Management; Barry Fay, president at McConnell’s Ice Cream and owner at Montecito Growth Advisors; Dave Goldmuntz, former managing director at Union Bank of Switzerland and Salomon Brothers London; and Jason Spievak, CEO at RingRevenue and former CFO of Callwave.