Cisco and leading venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson have announced their second annual global business plan competition for college and university students. The two firms will award $250,000 to the firm that wins this years DFJ and Cisco Global Business Plan Competition.
This competition makes use of some Cisco technology so participants can interact while building and presenting their firms. From the press release:
Leading global early-stage venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Cisco today announced they will jointly hold the second annual global business plan competition for students aimed at fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. The competition will leverage Cisco TelePresence(TM), which enables collaboration through a live, face-to-face video network communications experience, to allow finalists from around the world to present their business plans in real time to a joint panel of DFJ and Cisco executives based in San Jose.
The competition is designed to elicit new technology-oriented ideas from aspiring college and university student entrepreneurs around the world. Fourteen finalists will be announced on June 22, 2010. The winner, who will be announced on June 29, 2010, will receive a minimum of $250,000 seed money. The winner will also receive professional feedback and mentorship from both DFJ and Cisco.
“I could travel to over a dozen countries, visit hundreds of universities, spend months meeting with thousands of companies, but instead I get to see the best of the best during one single day via the geographic reach of the DFJ Global Network and the magic of Cisco TelePresence(TM),” said Tim Draper, managing director, DFJ. “Last year we held our first global business plan competition, and we were absolutely blown away by the caliber of the teams. These are resilient, nimble, and resourceful young entrepreneurs who follow their passions and make things happen. I have been in the venture industry for 25 years, and it’s entrepreneurs like these that will continue to inspire me for the next 25.”
This is a great opportunity for student entrepreneurs to gain some more knowledge, get some feedback, and continue their journey. Check out the site and check out some of last years finalists and what they are up to now.
Campus Entrepreneurship 