Two BYU teams win honors at business plans competition
February 18, 2009
This past summer two student teams from BYU's Marriott School of Management won awards and cash at the 25th annual Global Moot Corp Competition—a prestigious business plans competition.
BYU team Klymit, creator of a revolutionary insulation system for outdoor gear, won $5,000 as the first runner-up and was also recognized with the Outstanding Written Plan and Outstanding Product awards. BYU team SchoolTipline, which provides an anonymous online tool aimed at preventing bullying in schools, won $2,000 as one of six semifinalists and also received the Outstanding Presentation award.
Gary Rhoads, director of the BYU Center for Entrepreneurship, says, "In our program we emphasize launching new ideas, and the Moot Corp results highlight the creativity and can-do attitude of our students."
Held at the University of Texas at Austin, the Moot Corp Competition allows MBA students to simulate the process of raising venture capital. Thirty-two teams from around the world competed, each of which had won first place at a regional event. NueroBank, a stem cell storage venture from Carnegie Mellon University, won the grand prize.
Klymit's patent-pending insulation uses noble gases instead of fabric for a thinner, lighter, and warmer jacket that lets a user control his or her temperature. The technology has applications in a variety of outdoor gear, including sleeping bags, camping pads, jackets, boots, pants, and gloves.
SchoolTipline aims to reduce violence, bullying, and drug use by providing a Web site that encourages students to protect each other by anonymously reporting suspicious behavior.
Says Nile Hatch, the teams' faculty adviser, "The reason these two teams did well is that their products have traction in the marketplace."
