Finalists will compete for thousands in cash prizes in the 2007 UH Business Plan Competition

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
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Posted: Apr 25, 2007

HONOLULU — Finalists in the 2007 UH Business Plan Competition were announced yesterday at the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business. Six teams‘ business plans shined brighter than the rest, earning them spots in final competition to compete
for cash prizes totaling over $80,000.

After months of preparation, the remaining finalists will present their plans on Thursday, April 26 at the UH School of Architecture Auditorium from 3 to 6 p.m. Teams will have 10 minutes to present their plans and then 10 minutes to answer questions from a panel of judges. A banquet will be held after the Competition at the Waialae Country Club where the top‐placing teams will be announced and awarded. The final competition is free and open to the public. The banquet is by invitation only.


Finalists in the Social Enterprise Category

Cultural Bridge Tourism


Koichi Kamikusa, Lance Kimura, Yurika Mori and Miwako Watanabe

Cultural Bridge Tourism aims to develop different tourism programs that focus on native host culture and spirituality to complement the ever increasing hula and Hawaiian cultural phenomena in Japan.

Eco‐Sport Fishing Hawaii

Bruce Anderson, Eric Martinson, Keith Sakuda and David Walfish

Eco‐Sport Fishing Hawaii is a small coastal eco‐sport fishing (catch & release) venture targeting elite fisherman.

Hydroponics Hawaii

Eric Martinson, Carmie Pasquariello, Keith Sakuda and David Walfish

The aim of Hydroponics Hawaii is to integrate modern hydroponics horticulture with Hawaii‘s climate to
grow Native Hawaiian plants, accelerating plant cloning rates three times faster than traditional soil methods with minimal additional costs.


Finalists in the Traditional Category

La Wahie Biotech, Inc.


Daniel Dean, Patrick Fu and Donavan Kealoha

La Wahie Biotech Inc., a Hawaii‐based research and development firm, has developed an ingenious new way to produce clean‐burning ethanol that can be produced 69 cents cheaper per gallon than gas. La Wahie has genetically engineered a strain of cyanobacteria (blue‐green algae) that "sweats" pure ethanol
("cyanoethanol"), requiring only sunlight, inorganic nutrients, fresh water, and carbon dioxide (CO2). La Wahie‘s invention is now pending before the U.S. Patent Office.

Manoa Transgenics, Inc.

Renata Matcheva, Doris Miocinovic and Pearl Ueranant

Manoa Transgenics‘ goal is to deliver a stable technology platform that after the necessary trials will be the first to be used to cure genetic disease in humans. Until recently, gene therapy research focused on using the power of viruses for insertion but this method has proven to be difficult and dangerous to control. Additionally, the gene insertions, for the most part, create only temporary changes in the cell genome. Due to these problems, gene therapy testing for humans has been placed on hold until a more effective and safe insertion method could be used. By using our innovative gene insertion technology to develop transgenic mice and proprietary gene delivery plasmids, Manoa Transgenics will prove its efficiency for gene therapy.

TDunn ‐ Global Biosensors

Tim Dunn, Bryan Haines, John Mattos, Cindy Minakami and Chad Walton

Global Biosensors Inc. (GBI)‘s mission is to revolutionize the medical diagnostic industry. GBI owns the quickest and lowest cost technologies for detecting heart attacks and strokes. These patent protected biosensors are similar in size and design to the common silicon computer chips. In summary, a blood sample reacts with the chip surface and induces an electrical current which indicates whether an event has occurred (heart attack or stroke). GBI has patented these biosensor chips as CardioTectâ„¢ and StrokeTectâ„¢.


About the Competition

This is the eighth UH Business Plan Competition, presented by the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship & E‐Business (PACE). The Competition‘s objectives are to provide meaningful learning experiences for students interested in pursuing entrepreneurial opportunities, and to build a community network that encourages entrepreneurship. For more information about the UH Business Plan Competition, contact PACE at 956‐5083 or visit
www.UHBusinessPlanCompetition.com.


Facts

Participants:

  • 67 teams submitted executive summaries to compete in Round 1

  • 32 teams submitted business plans and presented their plans in Round 2

  • 6 teams will present their plans in the Final Round

  • Nearly 40 coaches volunteered their time and expertise to mentor teams

  • 65 judges volunteered their time and expertise to critique executive summaries and business plans



Prizes:
  • $20,000 First prize (sponsored by The Case Foundation)

  • $10,000 Second prize (sponsored by The Case Foundation)

  • $5,000 Third prize (sponsored by The Case Foundation)

  • $20,000 Social Enterprise prize (sponsored by The Case Foundation)

  • $20,000 UH Technology prize (sponsored by the Office of Technology Transfer and Economic Development)


For more information, visit: http://www.UHBusinessPlanCompetition.com