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PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
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April 7, 2000
Students pitch ideas to venture capitalists, compete for $10,000
Who: Thirteen teams of Princeton students pitching business plans to venture capitalists. They are competing for $10,000 in prize money.
What: The Second Annual Business Plan Contest, sponsored by the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club, a student organization
When: Saturday, April 8. Judging of the five finalists begins at 3 p.m.
Where: Dodds Auditorium in Robertson Hall on the Princeton University campus
Why: Because once upon a time, Amazon.com was just an idea in the mind of a Princetonian -- Jeff Bezos, Class of '86. Who's next?
The 10 venture capitalists and entrepreneurs judging the plans represent firms such as Greylock Capital, Burson-Marstellar, Domain Associates, Gund Investment Corporation, Zon Partners, Early Stage Enterprises and BeyondMedia.com. The student teams will defend their plans before the panel all day Saturday, with five finalists making 20-minute presentations beginning at 3 p.m.Proving that they are undeterred by the wild ride in the stock market this week, nearly all the students are presenting plans for technology-based companies, including many dot-coms, said senior Geraldine Alias, the student director of the contest. Audience members also will be asked to pick their three favorite plans, and those who predict the winners will be entered in a raffle for a Palm V organizer.
The Entrepreneurship Club has about 150 members. Cash prizes and expenses were donated by alumnus Howard Cox, a general partner at Greylock, a Boston-based venture capital firm.