Be Well Nutrition team.
The Tulane Business Plan Competition (TBPC) and the Domain Companies New Orleans Entrepreneur Challenge both went off without a hitch on Friday, April 19th. The Tulane Business Plan Competition is student-run and received 51 applications this year. Twenty moved onto the second round and three companies– Be Well Nutrition, TRUE-See Systems, and Humanure Power– pitched for $50,000 during the finals. With two companies overlapping, Be Well Nutrition, Humanure Power and Haystack EDU participated in the Domain Companies Challenge, which awarded $20,000 to the winner.
Each of the finalists had 35 minutes in front of the judges and audience–15 minutes to present and a 15-minute question and answer session.
Be Well Nutrition, a health product company that produces the lifestyle beverage ICONIC won the Tulane Business Plan Competition and the $50K the company was vying for since the announcement of the competition’s finalists last month. The drink targets young, active professionals who are looking for protein, energy, and alertness all in one. The funding will go towards a production run and an expansion into 100 stores.
Judges for the Tulane Business Plan Competition included: Sandra Coufal, Co-founder and President, Sibling Capital; David Morris, Managing Director, Oracle Capital Partners; Pierce Marshall, President and CEO, Elevage Capital Management, LCC; Matt Schwartz, Co-founder and Principal, Domain Companies; Chris Papamichael, Co-founder and Principal, Domain Companies; John Bertuzzi, retired Managing Director, Goldman Sachs.
Tom Hayes, Founder of Haystack EDU.
Domain Companies is a real estate investment and development firm based in New Orleans and New York. It’s founders and principals, who also acted as judges for the Challenge, agreed to award $20,000 to one of the three finalists. The local company that is considered Match.com for education purposes, Haystack EDU, took home the prize money. Founder Tom Hayes said, “[my] ultimate belief is that we teachers are professionals and should be treated as such…” We should, “provide them the opportunity to really distinguish themselves and to find greatest possible opportunities.” Haystack EDU’s platform will help replace more traditional methods of teacher placement such as job boards and headhunter organizations.
Judges for the Domain Companies New Orleans Entrepreneur Challenge included: Eric Hebel, CEO and Founder, Production Beast; Nic Perkin, Co-founder, Co-chairman and Co-CEO, Spear Point Buyout Group; Ti Martin, Co-proprietor, Commander’s Palace; Cameron Garden, Commercial Relationship Manager, IberiaBank; Sandra Coufal, Co-founder and President, Sibling Capital; Matt Schwartz, Co-founder and Principal, Domain Companies; Chris Papamichael, Co-founder and Principal, Domain Companies.
For more information about either pitch competition, visit tulane2013.istart.org.
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