15th Annual Business Plan Contest
from WPI Venture Forum
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008, 5:30pm - 9:00pm
Business strategies and a large dose of optimism will be shared with audience members as eager entrepreneurs make their presentations during the WPI Venture Forum Business Plan Contest on Tuesday, November 11. The winner of the 15th annual WPI Venture Forum Business Plan Contest will bring back to their enterprise a prize of $15,000 or more in cash and professional services.
Contestants will have already bested a first round of judging, held Saturday, October 25. Open to any technology-based pre-start, startup and ongoing businesses located in the Northeast, including students, the WPI Venture Forum Business Plan Contest welcomed entries involving the development of a new product, a new application or process in an existing business, or the startup of a new business. The initial round grouped contestants in three industry tracks: information technology/telecommunications, healthcare and other industries.
Judging this year’s finalists will be venture capitalist Elliott Katzman and financier Dina Routhier. Katzman is a general partner of Commonwealth Capital Ventures and has more than 25 years of high-technology experience as a venture backer, founder, and hired executive in building some of New England’s most successful software companies. He focuses his investment activity in software, internet-related and new media companies. Prior to joining Commonwealth, Katzman was a general partner at Kodiak Venture Partners where he led investments in companies such as Groove Mobile, Newforma, Pragmatech Software, SpaceClaim and Wis.dm. In addition, he was on the board of Watchfire.
Before becoming a venture capitalist, Katzman spent more than 20 years as a senior operating executive building four highly successful software companies: Myteam.com, a direct marketing/new media company now part of the Active Network, SolidWorks, where he led the merger with Dassault Systemes, Atria Software, where he led an IPO and a $1 billion merger with Pure Software, and Epoch Systems, where he managed the company's merger with EMC. He was also an executive with Prime Computer during its significant growth phase in the mid-1980s.
Katzman holds a BSBA summa cum laude from Salem State College. He is also involved in a variety of community activities.
Dina Routhier, principal of Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation (MTDC), has more than 12 years’ experience of investing in and financing technology companies. She joined MTDC in 1999, and has been responsible for reviewing business plans, interviewing entrepreneurs, identifying marketable technologies, making early-stage equity investments and working closely with MTDC portfolio companies. Routhier manages an existing portfolio of five companies—serving as a Director of three of those companies (geoVue, Spectra Analysis, and EdNets), and as an Observer/Advisor to the other two (OwnerIQ and Tomophase).
Prior to joining MTDC, from 1995 to 1999, Routhier managed a $400 million portfolio of loan commitments at Fleet National Bank (now Bank of America). As a member of the Bank’s High Technology Division, she prospected, structured and originated new debt facilities to start-up and established companies operating with the technology and biotechnology industries. She came to Fleet National Bank from JP Morgan & Co., Inc. in New York City. Routhier earned her MBA from Boston University and her BS in Management from Boston College.
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