18 Finalists Were Awarded Cash Prizes Totaling $113,500 

A sold out crowd of over 300 people gathered at the NASCAR Hall of Fame to hear start-up business pitches from nine innovative high-growth companies on Thursday evening. This year’s competition awarded $113,500 in prize money and including the $50,000 grand prize from Charlotte-based Vaterra Capital.

The event featured remarks by Mayor Anthony Foxx on the importance of entrepreneurship in the Charlotte region. Dr. Robert G. Wilhelm, Vice Chancellor, Research and Economic Development at UNC Charlotte opened the event with an update on the university’s commitment to entrepreneurship support. Paul Wetenhall, president of the Ben Craig Center, Inc., offered insight into the region’s collaborative efforts to build a strong entrepreneurship and innovation platform.

Eighteen finalists waited with anticipation for their names to be called as one of the 9 teams to make a final five-minute pitch and respond to rapid-fire questions from the judging panel. Having already competed earlier in the day to determine the category winners the teams now were pitching to win the $50,000 grand prize.

The judging panel included multiple perspectives from experienced investors. Panelists included Paul Grim, Sunbridge Capital, John Cambier, Idea Fund Partners, Marjorie Benbow, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Rajeev Kulkarni 3D Systems, and Mike Marvin, MDM Advisors.

Grand prize winner, CanDiag, Inc, will receive a $50,000 convertible-debt note from Vaterra Capital. Founded by UNC Charlotte researcher Dr. Pinku Mukherjee the company has developed a novel technology that accurately detects early breast cancer. Dr. Mukherjee observes, “The investment will pave the path for further clinical validation and regulatory approval to offer women an early detection breast cancer blood test.  The anticipated impacts are greater peace of mind to women from a more accurate test, and improved survival with early detection.  Further, it is expected that healthcare costs will be lowered with the reduction of redundant expensive testing. “

Prior to the evening event the 18 finalists went before panels of experienced angel investors to determine the category winners and who would present at night. The Ben Craig Center hosted 20 angel investors from throughout the Carolinas that brought their knowledge and investment dollars to judge the finalists in Charlotte.

The $10,000 Category winners included New Energy and High Tech category winner InfoSense, Inc (Charlotte, NC); IT and Informatics category winner Deal Cloud (Charlotte, NC); Consumer Products and Services category winner Mobile Potential (Asheville, NC); and Life Science and Biotech category winner Qualiber, Inc. (Chapel Hill, NC). The student category winner was Instruct Health from Queens University. The social enterprise category winner in partnership with Queens City Forward was Bamboo Apparel (High Point, NC). The J. Chris Murphy award was awarded to the top UNC Charlotte student team PipePro.

Over the course of the evening the audience reviewed each of the pitches in preparation for their chance to choose the People’s Choice winner. When the audience was asked to cast their vote via text message the $1,000 People’s Choice Award went to Deal Cloud of Charlotte, NC.

All 18 finalists will receive cash prizes with total prizes reaching $113,500. Additional in-kind service prizes were provided by: Ben Craig Center, Packard Place and MailVU.

The Charlotte Venture Challenge grew significantly this year with 117 applicants from the Carolinas, VA and TN. This year’s 18 finalists were: Instruct Healthcare, PipePro, The Pucker Butt Pepper Company, iBid2Save.com, CanDiag, Inc., InfoSense, DealCloud, Parasol Technologies, and YOUniverisity Drive, all from Charlotte; Qualiber, Inc., Proximitas, Good Fit and Directed Deposits, all from Chapel Hill; Orthovative Technologies from Winston-Salem; Bamboo Apparel from High Point; Dynamo Micropower from Durham; Mobile Potential from Asheville; and Friendeo from Blacksburg, VA.

On April 19^th in the Nascar Hall of Fame High Octane Theater 8 start-up companies will compete for the chance to win the 2012 Charlotte Venture Challenge. Over $100,000 including a $50,000 Grand Prize will be awarded at a reception to follow in the Hall of Champions.

When: April 19, 2012 from 3:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Sold Out…Sold Out…Sold Out…Sold Out

Where: Nascar Hall of Fame 400 E Martin Luther King Blvd Charlotte, NC 28202)

Presentations in High-Octane-Theater

Agenda  

3:30 p.m. Networking

4:00 p.m. Welcome and Competition Begins

The day begins with 18 finalists competing at The Ben Craig Center in front of Angel Investors for the chance to be chosen a Category Winner or one of 3 Wild Cards that will make their bid for the grand prize at the evening event. Suspense grows as the 8 start-ups are announced one-by-one and then make their pitch and answer rapid fire questions from a panel of Venture Capitalists.

6:00 p.m. Keynote Presentation

The keynote will be 2006 CVC alumni Igor and Victor Jablokov, the founders of Yap will talk about their start-up experiences.  Yap was awarded North Carolina’s Early Stage Company of the Year and was recently sold to a Fortune 100 Tech Giant.

6:45 p.m. – Reception and Awards

Reception in Great Hall

Reception will include Heavy Hors d’oeuvres, Drinks and plenty of Networking. An awards ceremony will follow where we will first announce the People’s Choice Awards text voted by our audience. We will then award over $50,000 in prize money to the Category Winners and Runners-up. The night will conclude with the awarding of the $50,000 Grand Prize.

Sold Out…Sold Out…Sold Out…Sold Out

Charlotte, NC (Friday, March 30, 2012) –

“With more prize money than ever before and over 100 community members that have volunteered their time to mentor and work with these early-stage companies, it just goes to show that entrepreneurship is alive and highly supported in our area,” says Devin Collins of UNC Charlotte the founding organization of the competition.

Charlotte Venture Challenge (CVC) Finals will be held Thursday, April 19 at 4 p.m. at the NASCAR Hall of Fame and is open to public. (Register to attend.) During the event, teams must make a bid before a panel of Venture Capitalists, display a five-minute presentation, and take part in five-minutes of rapid-fire questions.

The founders of YAP, a 2006 competition alumnus who was recently sold to a Fortune 100 Tech Giant, will present a keynote speech, and awards will be presented at a reception to follow.

This year’s finalists are: Instruct Healthcare, PipePro, The Pucker Butt Pepper Company, iBid2Save.com, CanDiag, Inc., InfoSense, DealCloud, Parasol Technologies, and YOUniversity Drive, all from Charlotte; Qualiber, Inc., Proximitas, Good Fit and Directed Deposits, all from Chapel Hill; Orthovative Technologies from Winston-Salem; Bamboo Apparel from High Point; Dynamo Micropower from Durham; Mobile Potential from Asheville; and Friendeo from Blacksburg, VA.

Register to attend.

Vaterra Capital a Charlotte, NC based venture capital firm will invest $50k in the winner of the 2012 Charlotte Venture Challenge.

CHARLOTTE VENTURE CHALLENGE $100,000 BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

APPLICATIONS DUE FEBRUARY 29

Charlotte, NC (January 17, 2012) – The Charlotte Venture Challenge business innovation competition, formerly known as Five Ventures, is accepting applications from early-stage entrepreneurial companies between now and Wednesday, February 29 at 11:59 p.m. The Charlotte Venture Challenge is the region’s premier business plan competition, organized by UNC Charlotte’s Charlotte Research Institute and The Ben Craig Center. For the first time, prize money to be awarded to the winning companies will top $100,000.

Judged by top business leaders including some of the area’s most successful entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists, winning companies will be chosen in six categories of competition: 1) New Energy & High Tech, 2) IT & Informatics, 3) Life and Biotech Sciences, 4) Consumer Products and Services, 5) Student Ventures and 6) Social Enterprises. Student Ventures must be operated by students enrolled in community colleges or four-year institutions.

In its 11th year, the Charlotte Venture Challenge has been renamed to encompass a broader mission: to establish a nationally significant competition that accelerates the growth of scalable new ventures in the Charlotte region and builds recognition of Charlotte as an innovation center. “The Challenge has launched a number of significant companies in its history,” said Paul Wetenhall, president of the Ben Craig Center.  “Our new sponsors and increased prize money are indicative of the accelerating activity and growing support infrastructure that the entrepreneurial community enjoys in the Charlotte region.”

The competition includes a series of five workshops for registered firms beginning on Wednesday, February 1. Over the course of three months, participants will learn about opportunity assessments, receive mentoring and connect with other entrepreneurs. The high-stakes finals and awards will be held on Thursday, April 19.

To apply, visit www.charlotteventurechallenge.com. For additional questions, contact Devin Collins at (704) 250-5753 or devin.collins@uncc.edu.

*Past Competitors Continue to Succeed:

YAP Inc., a 2006 Five Ventures, now Charlotte Venture Challenge (CVC) competitor, was reportedly sold to a Fortune 100 Tech Giant for an undisclosed purchase price. Founded by brothers Victor and Igor Jablokov, YAP is a technology startup that developed an advanced cloud-based mobile speech recognition platform. “Five Ventures allowed us to publicly test an idea for a new enterprise and gauge the public’s reaction to it. Thanks to the positive reception at the event, we were able to find our first investor and board member, quickly complete a financing process and launch our company,” stated brothers Jablokov.

SoyMeds Inc., winner of the 2006 Five Ventures (CVC) and a UNC Charlotte Biology Department spin out, was recently announced as the winner of the life sciences company award by the North Carolina Technology Association (NCTA).  NCTA conducts North Carolina’s most prestigious statewide technology awards program, recognizing companies and individuals who have characterized excellence, innovation and leadership in 21 categories.

Infosense, a 2010 Five Ventures (CVC) competitor, and MailVu, the 2011 winner, were both awarded grants from NC IDEA in Fall 2011. NC IDEA recognizes promising technology companies in North Carolina with grant awards up to $50,000.

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About Charlotte Venture Challenge

In 2001, the Five Ventures Business Innovation Competition was founded with the goal of helping early-stage UNC Charlotte businesses grow. Since those early days and through the support of UNC Charlotte’s Charlotte Research Institute, Office of Technology Transfer and Belk College of Business sponsors, service providers and a number of dedicated partners, the competition has grown into a region-wide economic development competition attracting companies from all over North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. Since the first competition, over 100 start-ups have made it to the finals where experts from our community have mentored them. Alumni companies have gone on to raise over $40 million in venture capital and have continued to gain national and international attention. The contest name was changed in 2012 to the Charlotte Venture Challenge.

About CRI
The Charlotte Research Institute, part of The University of North Carolina at Charlotte, helps the region’s economy by facilitating partnerships between the University’s applied research programs and government agencies, industry and academia.