2005-2006 Third Annual Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition

The winners of the Third Annual Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition were announced at the April 7th Awards Banquette. Over 40 business plans were entered in the Competition. The winner of the Undergraduate Student Award ($1,500) was Elizabeth Hadley for Shay's, a gourmet food store. Deneine Powell was the winner of the Graduate Student Award ($1,750) for Seven Stones, a complete individual and corporate wellness program and spa. The Alumni Award ($1,750) was won by John LaDisa and Jeff Schmitt for Vascular Prolifix, devices for the treatment of vascular diseases in children. Craig Stingley was the recipient of the Initiative for a Competitive Milwaukee Award ($2,500) for C. S. Innovation, golf club cleaning brushes. John LaDisa and Jeff Schmitt won the Grand Prize ($12,000). They and Deneine Powell will move directly to the final round of the Governor's Business Plan Contest.

Michael Cudahy was the featured speaker at the Banquette. Mr. Cudahy co-founded Marquette Electronics in 1965, greatly advancing the field of life-saving medical technology and triggering a revolution in applying information technology to health care. In 1998, he sold his company to GE Medical Systems, based in Waukesha. In addition to building a company with $350 million in sales from a tiny start-up, Mr. Cudahy created a model for enhancing employee development and has led by example in giving back to the community. Prominent among his interests are the Discovery World Museum, the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Boys and Girls Clubs, the YMCA and Marquette University.

The Business Plan Competition provides a learning environment in which entrepreneurs develop their business ideas and receive feedback from a panel of judges comprised of angel investors and community business leaders. Marquette students and faculty, alumni, and businesses in the Initiative for a Competitive Milwaukee target area were invited to submit business plans. In addition, the event provides a networking forum for students interested in becoming entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs interested in networking with other entrepreneurs, and for angel investors interested in advising or investing in deals.

The Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship is founded on the belief that entrepreneurial wealth creation serves the community through, not only economic benefits, but also growth in community and service. It is our goal to create in students and entrepreneurs within the Marquette family a positive orientation toward the art of the possible. We do this by helping each person acquire a personal collection of knowledge, experience and personal contacts.