Rice Alliance and Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business host KIPP Houston High School Business Plan Competition

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25 teams presented new business ideas and competed at first annual competition.

HOUSTON -- (June 13, 2011)– Over 120 seniors from KIPP Houston High School, representing the entire 2011 graduating class, participated in the first annual KHHS Business Plan Competition, held in partnership with the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and the Jesse H. Jones School of Business at Rice University. 

Teams composed of five members each spent the spring semester brainstorming ideas, researching markets, and developing business plans to transform their ideas from dreams to reality.  This competition served as the Social Studies capstone project for graduation, but also served a more practical purpose.  As KHHS Economic teacher David Wakefield stated, “The business plan project helped foster the types of career skills that will make our students more marketable in a very competitive global economy.”

Twenty-five teams went head to head in the first round of competition.  The morning round saw three groups of 8 or 9 teams present their business plan and field questions from the judges.  The top two teams from each of the three groups advanced to the final round in the afternoon.  The Shell Auditorium at the Jones School was filled to capacity as the six finalist teams fought for the grand prize in front of 24 judges composed of Jones MBA students, Rice Alliance staff, Jones School faculty, and successful Houston entrepreneurs selected the winners.

“Being able to educate and inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs is an exciting opportunity for us at the Rice Alliance,” said Brad Burke, managing director of the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University. “Our goal is to foster new entrepreneurs and launch new successful businesses. The student presentations were outstanding, especially for high school students with little business experience.  Most of the ideas presented were very viable business opportunities.   We hope they return after college as CEOs of new business ventures.”
A unique restaurant delivery service, UniversID, won top spot.  UniversID, composed of Jessica Chavez, Manuela Hernandez, Gary Montoya, Charisse Taylor, and Kevin Zelaya, would be the first to target university students at Rice and the surrounding West University communities in delivering food from Houston restaurants to the customer’s doorstep. Sober Scooters, who won second place , was modeled after a successful Atlanta business and would provide a designated driver scooter service for patrons of nightclubs and bars. The third place winner, Piezoelectricity, was commercializing a technology from the University of Houston to convert mechanical energy to electrical energy to recharge cell phones.   Other top plans included an online Quinceanera planning and consulting business, a funeral home in fast growing Katy, Texas, and a Kabob restaurant based in the urban Washington Street corridor of Houston.
 
“Rice University's involvement was instrumental in simulating a close to real world scenario for our students,” stated Wakefield.  The professionalism of the event was commented on by students, spectators, and judges alike.  The success of the event has both schools anticipating a fruitful partnership, “In the future, we hope to strengthen on our relationship with the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, so we can continue the project going forward.”

About the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (Rice Alliance) is Rice University’s nationally recognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education and the launch of technology companies. Since its inception, the Rice Alliance has assisted in the launch of more than 250 startups which have raised more than half a billion dollars in early stage capital. More than 750 companies have presented at the 125 Rice Alliance programs. The Rice Alliance hosts the world’s richest and largest business plan competition, the Rice Business Plan Competition, where 42 graduate–level teams from around the world compete for more than $1 million. More than 116 past competitors are in business today and have raised in excess of $337 million in funding.

Recent National & International Recognition:

- 2011 #14 Best U.S. Graduate Entrepreneurship Program – US News & World Report
- 2011 National Model MBA Entrepreneurship Program - USASBE
- 2010 No. 6 U.S. Graduate Entrepreneurship Program – Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine
- 2009 Outstanding Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership - GCEC
- 2009 Outstanding Specialty Entrepreneurship Program – USASBE
- 2008 Houston’s Greatest Economic Development Ally – Greater Houston Partnership
- 2007 Outstanding Enterprise Creation Award – GCEC

About KIPP

KIPP, the Knowledge Is Power Program, is a national network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. There are currently 99 KIPP schools in 20 states and the District of Columbia serving more than 27,000 students.

Every day, KIPP students across the nation are proving that demographics do not define destiny. Over 80 percent of our students are from low-income families and eligible for the federal free or reduced-price meals program, and 95 percent are African American or Latino. Nationally, more than 90 percent of KIPP middle school students have gone on to college-preparatory high schools, and over 85 percent of KIPP alumni have gone on to college.

News Source : Rice Alliance and Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business host KIPP Houston High School Business Plan Competition