Are you a student entrepreneur with a business idea that you're passionate about? Do you have the persistence, passion and commitment to bring your idea to fruition but lack the cash? Are you prepared to work hard for the opportunity of a lifetime?
If your answer to each of these questions is "Yes!" then the University of the Virgin Islands 13D Student Entrepreneurship Competition is what you've been waiting for.
An informational meeting about the competition has been scheduled for Thursday, October 13, 2011 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. in the UVI Administration and Conference Center (ACC Rm. 142) on the St. Thomas campus and in the Great Hall on UVI's Albert A. Sheen campus on St. Croix.
Imagine winning the financing to launch your business in the spring of 2012. UVI and 13D are prepared to make this happen.
Imagine winning the financing to launch your business in the spring of 2012. UVI and 13D are prepared to make this happen.
A $5 million gift to UVI from investment strategist and entrepreneur Kiril Sokoloff, the founder of 13D Research (USVI) LLC (13D), will endow the 13D Student Entrepreneurship Competition, a Distinguished Professor of Entrepreneurship, and an Entrepreneurial Speaker Series.
UVI students, get your teams together and get ready to turn your dream into reality.
Teams on each UVI campus will be invited to enter two rounds of competition. There will be one first-place winning team, one second-place team and one third-place team. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winning teams, to support their business concepts, as follows:
- First Place - $30,000
- Second Place - $20,000
- Third Place - $10,000
Regularly scheduled meetings will take place at UVI beginning in October. In November, teams will pitch their ideas, business models, and early plan structures to a group of mentors who will evaluate them and provide feedback, leading up to the first round of competition in mid-February.
"The 13D Student Entrepreneurship Competition is a transformative opportunity for our students and the entire University," said UVI President Dr. David Hall. "I envision numerous new business ventures in the Virgin Islands and the Caribbean that are a direct result of this competition. This competition is evidence of the University's ongoing commitment to providing students with real-life learning experiences that have the capacity to change their lives."
The 13D Student Entrepreneurship Competition is open to UVI undergraduate and graduate students in all disciplines.
For more information please contact Dr. Glenn Metts in the UVI School of Business by e-mail at gmetts@uvi.edu or by telephone at (340) 693-1303 or (419) 297-2060.
More information is also available from the 13D Student Competition web page.