TCU Neeley Hosts Annual Values and Ventures Competition

The Texas Christian University – Neeley School of Business recently served as host for the seventh annual Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures Competition, awarding up to $79,700 in cash prizes to student entrepreneurs.

The annual competition was held on April 21-22 at TCU, hosting students from fifty one colleges and universities across the country. The competition, which was hosted by the Neeley Entrepreneurship Center, also included more than 100 business professionals to act as judges and mentors for the competitors.

The competition in particular looks for business pitches that would benefit a particular community, population and/or the environment while still turning a profit. Throughout the competition, students were able to earn cash prizes totaling $79,700 and in-kind services totaling $150,000.

First prize winners at the competition was Health Tech Solutions from the University of Iowa for their work in improving the organ plant process, implementing more intelligent communication and saving more lives as a result. The team was awarded with $25,000 and will be used to hire a sales professional and scale the business.

“You have to be relentless and never give up, to continue to fight until it is successful and it becomes what you wanted it to be,” said Health Tech Solution’s Dalton Shaull, who’s car accident and subsequent nerve transplant led to the company’s founding.  “I’ve embodied that since my accident when I hit rock bottom. That’s the perfect launch paid.”

Second place winners of $15,000, Treyetech from Johns Hopkins University, also used their business to make improvements in the healthcare field, developing a device that can make corneal surgery simpler for eye surgeons.

The Values and Ventures Competition is the largest contest of its kind and was co-founded by Nancy Tartaglino Richards and Lisa Barrentine in a partnership with TCU Neeley. The Neeley Entrepreneurship Center has hosted the annual competition since its founding in 2010, witnessing more than 230 teams competing for more than $400,000 in cash in that time, and resulting in the launch of at least 90 new companies.

regions: Dallas

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