UNL Team Wins NU Center's International Venture Plan Competition

Lincoln, Neb., March 10, 2004 -- Allied Strategy LLC, comprised of University of Nebraska-Lincoln students Britton Nielsen, Jeff Runyan and Colby Thomson, recently won the Donald Duncan/Duncan Aviation Undergraduate NU Venture Plan Competition hosted by the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship at UNL.

It was the first time in the 18-year history of the competition that a UNL team has won.

The plan was developed in the Center for Entrepreneurship course, "Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation." The core technology for Allied Strategy's business is being developed in the design studio of the J.D. Edwards Honors Program in Computer Science and Management, in which Nielsen (from Rapid City, S.D.), Runyan (Vacaville, Calif.) and Thomson (Lake Lotawana, Mo.) are seniors. Allied Strategy plans a full launch in May 2005.

Eleven undergraduate teams from across North America were in Lincoln to present their plans in front of more than 40 judges, who included local entrepreneurs, members of the banking and investment community, professional service providers and technology transfer specialists. Competitors in the undergraduate competition came from the University of Arizona, Lethbridge University in Calgary, Alberta, Loyola-Marymount University in Los Angeles, Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., the University of Iowa, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, the University of Toledo, the University of Portland (Ore.), and the University of Houston, in addition to UNL.

In addition, teams from UNL, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech universities, the universities of Georgia, California-Berkeley, Louisville, and Michigan, and two universities from India, the Indian Institute of Management and the Indian School of Business, competed in the infoUSA Graduate International NU Venture Plan Competition. The UNL graduate competitor, Tom Rathje of Nutrimens Management Systems, was among the competition's finalists.

The rules of the competition require that the new venture plan be written by the students under faculty supervision, and that college credit be received for the development of the plan. In addition, the business plan must be for a seed, start-up or early-stage venture and must address the entire business concept (including implementation). Proposals for the buy-out or expansion of an existing company, tax shelter opportunities, real estate syndications, and other consulting projects or analyses are not eligible. The goal of the NU Venture Plan Competition is to improve the chances of entrepreneurial success by exposing student competitors to quality feedback, investment opportunities, and a chance to network with aspiring founders of competitive and innovative entrepreneurial enterprises.

CONTACT: Elaine Warren, Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship, (402) 472-0860