
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
R.I. Biz Plan winners announced
By Mass High Tech staff
The 2009 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition has awarded $130,000 in prizes to the two winners of its 2009 contest, in the entrepreneur track and student track, as well as four finalists. The winners each won $45,300 in cash and in-kind services, donated by Rhode Island companies and organizations. The finalists each received $10,000 in prizes.
The entrepreneur track was won by BioIntraface Inc., led by John Jarrell and David Spenciner. The startup, formed in January, develops technology that reduces infections associated with implanted medical devices, and won the entrepreneur track.
Runa, a group from Brown University, won the student track of the competition. The team includes Tyler Gage, Daniel MacCombie, Charlies Harding and Laura Thompson. Runa creates energy drinks and other beverages from Amazonian tree leaves.
Asphalt Shingle Recycling, which intends to implement recycling standards in re-roofing, was a finalist in the competition’s entrepreneur track. The business is led by Dan Horton. The other entrepreneur track finalist is Sidekicks, headed by Jon Smyth. The business plan includes development of a forearm crutch “to improve the self-esteem of users,” the competition explains.
Student track finalists include Blink LLC, headed by Brown University’s Eunice Png and Julie Sygiel, which has created stain-resistant underwear, and EEG Toys Co. The latter, which develops games with electroencephalography (EEG) technology), includes Brown University’s Max Lang, Hieu Nguyen, Alexander Baker and Boram Yi.
Formed in 2001, the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition received 57 applications from 12 states in a range of industries including biotechnology, information technology, Internet, manufacturing and health care. Rules of the competition require those eligible to win the competition to set up operations in Rhode Island.







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