On Saturday, April 1, a West Virginia University studentor team of studentswill have $10,000 to make a business dream come alive in the fourth annual WVU Entrepreneurship Center Business Plan Competition.

Five teams will present final business plans to a panel of judges from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the WVU Life Sciences Building (Room 15 auditorium) on the Downtown Campus. The winner will be announced at approximately 2:30 p.m.

Twenty student teams submitted three-to-five-page summaries for their business ideas last fall. Judges from the College of Business and Economics and the business community narrowed the field to five last semester. This semester, the finalists have been working to develop their ideas and business plans with the help of a series of workshops and advice from experts.

The finalists and their ideas:

  • Buckle Up: Provides high quality custom made belt buckles and fashion accessories.
  • Document X-terminators, LLC : Provides both on-site and off-site document shredding, as well as other document storage solutions.
  • Ice Age Coolers: Manufactures an innovative bag designed to more conveniently and efficiently keep keg beverages cold.
  • Elite Tables: Manufactures hand-made, luxurious poker tables of solid wood.
  • Y Not Solutions: Designs and manufactures an automated bartender system called Electrobar that uses an enclosed and touch-screen based user interface to improve consistency and reduce cost.

Located in the College of Business and Economics, the Entrepreneurship Center was established in 2002 by the joint efforts of the College of Business&Economics; Davis College of Agriculture, Forestry and Consumer Sciences; Extension Service; and the Office of the Vice President for Research&Economic Development.

Among its many other activities, the Center offers internship opportunities in its new business incubator and recently developed a minor in entrepreneurship for WVU students. To find out more about the Entrepreneurship Center , visitwww.be.wvu.edu/ec.

Parking for the event is available in Lot 10, overflow in Lot 27.