Regnier Venture Creation Challenge Finalists Compete for Funding on May 5

Photo by Janet Rogers

Four teams will share $55,000 in startup funding; top prize now $20,000

Each spring, the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the UMKC Henry W. Bloch School of Management hosts a business plan competition in which students can present new concepts to local investors, business leaders and entrepreneurs. A total of $55,000 will be awarded this year, with the first-place team receiving $20,000doubling the previous $10,000 first-place prize.

“The Regnier Venture Creation Challenge, now in its sixth year, is one of the many ways in which the Regnier Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation supports and promotes Kansas City’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Jeff Hornsby, Ph.D., director of the institute. “Our portfolio continues to grow steadily, as it did this year with the opening of the Bloch Venture Hub. The Venture Creation Challenge is special because it is focused on the students who will lead our community’s business and job creation process for decades to come.”

Semifinalist presentations will take place from 9:30-11:10 a.m. Friday, May 5, in the Bloch Executive Hall, 5108 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo. Finalists will be announced at noon. The finalists will begin their presentations at 12:15 p.m. The 2017 Regnier Venture Creation Challenge closing ceremony and awards presentation will take place at 2:45 p.m. in Room 218 of the Bloch Executive Hall.

Awards for the four finalists are:

First place        $20,000 team award
Second place   $7,500 team award
Third place      $5,000 team award
Fourth place    $2,500 team award

During the first day of the two-day event, 45 qualifying teams will deliver a two-minute sales presentation to judges. Immediately following, the Regnier Venture Creation Challenge expo opens, with each team hosting a booth where they will  describe their venture, business model and strategy to judges and community members.

Following the expo, a judges panel, made up of local entrepreneurs and venture professionals, will narrow the pool to 16 semifinalist ventures, based on the submitted business plan and performance in the presentations and venture expo.


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