Three teams of OSU students win top prizesin Riata Business Plan Competition

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

R2R Technologies was awarded a $25,000 check after winning first place in the Annual Riata Business Plan Competition. R2R Technologies team members, from left, are OSU students Carlo Branca, Aravind Seshadri and Pedro Velasco.

The fifth annual Riata Business Plan Competition awarded more than $43,000 in prize money on Saturday to help winning student teams finance their plans and turn them into viable business ventures.

The Riata Business Plan Competition is facilitated by the Oklahoma State University School of Entrepreneurship in the Spears School of Business.

R2R Technologies, a solution that can eliminate the setup and wastage during product changeover due to misalignment issues in roll-to-roll (R2R) processes, received top honors and the $25,000 for capturing first place. R2R Technologies team members are OSU students Carlo Branca, Aravind Seshadri and Pedro Velasco.

Medishine, the production and marketing of the SleepEaze Night Shirt which alleviates the symptoms of sleep apnea, received $10,000 for capturing second place. Medishine members are OSU students Fash Fadaei, Nasim Nosoudi and Akkarapol Sangasoongsong.

Medishine was awarded $10,000 for capturing second place in the annual Riata Business Plan Competition. School of Entrepreneurship professor Mike Morris, center, presents Medishine members Nasim Nosoudi and Akkarapol Sangasoongsong with their second-place awards.

Speaking of Heroes, a non-profit organization that recruits, trains, and promotes heroic professional speakers who have triumphed over tragedy, loss, and pain to share their inspirational stories with others, received $5,000 for capturing third place. OSU student Joseph Crane is the founder of Speaking of Heroes.

PredictREI, a real estate investment software allowing access to critical property and closing information, auto-generated exit strategies, and auto-generated forms and pro formas, secured fourth place. The sole member of predict REI is OSU student Jerry Powers.

The Riata Center for Entrepreneurship in Oklahoma State University’s Spears School of Business launched the campus-wide competition in December with 80 teams of OSU students competing. The top 16 teams presented business plans to a group of successful venture investors from Oklahoma and Texas, on Friday, April 19, and four teams were selected to advance to Saturday’s finals.

Joseph Crane of Speaking of Heroes received $5,000 for capturing third place in the annual Riata Business Plan Competition.

Teams were critiqued on the strength of their concept, the marketability of their product, the economic feasibility of their company, their planned business operations, the management of their team, and their capability to receive financing.

Others receiving recognition during the contest were:

Entrepreneurial Spirit Award: Arbuckle Pie Company

Dreamer & Doer: Ray Grand

Best Technology: Medishine

Best Social Venture: Latin Dimensions

Young Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year: Christina Roberts

Distinguished Community Entrepreneur of the Year: Steve Irby

Entrepreneurial Founder’s Award: Dean Larry Crosby

Jon Wiese Entrepreneurial Excellence Award: Suzanne Wiese and Family

Outstanding Entrepreneurship Educator: Dr. Tom Westbrook

Outstanding Entrepreneurship Scholar: Dr. Robert Baron

Riata Fellow of the Year: Dr. Melanie Page

Entrepreneurial Faculty Difference Maker: Elizabeth Payne

Academic Excellence in Entrepreneurship: Caleb Neil

Academic Excellence in Entrepreneurship: John Harden and Nathalie Guerrier

Academic Excellence in Entrepreneurship: Suhail Shaikh

Research Excellence in Entrepreneurship: Blakley Davis

Student Entrepreneur of the Year: MaxQ

Social Entrepreneur of the Year: Dee Goodnight

Excellence in Entrepreneur Service Award: Patrick Huber and Mariah Olson

Entrepreneurial Difference Maker Award: Dani Wojciak

Outstanding Entrepreneurial Leadership: Chris McNeil

Outstanding E Club Member of the Year: Kourtney Brooks

Anthony Galindo Entrepreneurial Spirit Award (Entrepreneurship Club): Melissa Astudillo

Entrepreneurial Dreamer & Doer Award (Entrepreneurship Club): Shawn Jones

CIE Learning Community Leadership Award: Kelsey Burgess

Outstanding Service Award: Crystal Guthrie

2013 CIE Scholars: Akkarapol Sangasoongson, Ashish Singh, Ali Asmari Sadabad, Caroline Diedrich, Clint Miller, Jared Krittenbrink, Jason Vlastaras, Jeena Shrestha, Nick Irby, Jagdeep Podichetty, Suhail Shaikh, Timothy Whitley, Trent Hughes, Tyler Worden, and Nasim Nosoudi.

For more information about the Riata Center visit http://entrepreneurship.okstate.edu/riata/