Student entrepreneurs rewarded for great ideas

Submitted by crbrow1 on Wed, 05/28/2008 - 19:01.

16 student-run ventures receive seed money for 2008-09 academic year

SCOTTSDALE (May 28, 2008) –Arizona State University’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative recently announced the financial award winners for the 2008-2009 program.

Entrepreneurial businesses at SkySong will also include 16 student-run ventures this fall. The students will be awarded seed money for their businesses based on an initial comprehensive application process, and a live presentation to a panel of judges.

Judges for the competition included local, successful entrepreneurs like Dan Clarke of Specialty Retail Shops. “The presentations and business plans from the top groups were quite impressive,” said Clarke.

The presenting business ideas ranged from non-profit to high-tech to an online cheerleading community. Just a few of this year’s winners are: Community Snap of Arizona, which delivers effective spay and neuter assistance programs to rural, low-income Arizona communities whose animals are at high risk for being killed due to the lack of resources; Genghis Skate, a shop specializing in the conception, design, and manufacturing of deluxe, high-performance longboard skateboard components; emusicinstruction.com, which delivers live, interactive music instruction for students of all skill-levels via consumer webcam technology; and Las Otras Hermanas, a socially conscious, equitable trade clothing line committed to creating social change through responsible consumption.

All of the winning groups will be provided with seed funding for their businesses, ranging from $2,000 to $20,000. The Edson program is not for class credit and all businesses are run in the student’s free time. All winners are provided with an office at the ASU space at SkySong, the Scottsdale Innovation Center located at Scottsdale Road and McDowell.

For more details on ASU programs located at SkySong, visit the Web site http://skysong.asu.edu
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Media contact:
Alison Bendler
ASU at SkySong
480-884-1654
602-741-0866 cell
alison.bendler@asu.edu