Young Entrepreneurs Turn Ideas Into Business Plans

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - When Michael Altman and Sam Fine stopped for gas on their way to the University of Maryland, College Park, about a year ago they struck up a conversation that eventually lead to their winning $12,000 -- and could potentially change the way the nation shops.

"After we bought the gas, I was like, 'Yo, you want your receipt?' and he was like 'No man, who cares?'" Fine, a senior majoring in finance recalled. "It just sort of snowballed from there."

Altman, a senior majoring in electrical and computer engineering, said that the road trip chat evolved into a business plan that would make paper receipts obsolete by collecting the same information online.

The pair did a trial run Friday to see how sell their concept would sell to investors. They walked away with the winning prize for the undergraduate division at the annual UM Business Plan Competition.

The competition, which began in 2001, awards $50,000 in total prize money to UMCP teams in three categories: undergraduate, young alumni and faculty/graduate students.

While the contest is open to anyone in the school, it draws mostly engineering students because it is sponsored by a program in the engineering school. There were initially 58 entries, later narrowed down to 16 semifinalists, who were then teamed up with business mentors who helped fine tune the budding entrepreneurs' pitches.

Altman, who could not stop grinning after the win, explained that the feedback that came through the mentoring process and during the judging has helped him get a better sense of how to turn an idea into reality.

For example, he said that the original plan would have only eliminated clutter for the shopper. The revised plan now envisions earning revenue from businesses and merchants through ads and linking.

So, if he and his business partner can get the necessary money for their company called I-Receipts, customers will be able to track their purchases, be reminded if they need to restock on supplies and get alerts about sales.

Anik Singal, a May 2005 graduate, agreed that the best thing that has come from this competition is the pointers he picked up in the mentoring process and the practical experience of making a business pitch.

He lost in the undergrad group last year but won $15,000 in the young alumni category this time around for his company Affiliate Classroom. The virtual school teaches people how to get a Web site up and running, as well as how to make money from linking to online merchants like Amazon.com.

Losing the year before made him realize he needed to get better at describing his business to potential investors, he said.

"The way you present, the areas you focus on, is very important. You have to get your dream out there," Singal said. "I think that was the problem last time: They didn't see what I saw."

Other finalists expressed similar sentiments, saying that they tended to focus too much on the technical aspects of their business plans rather than marketing, which they said is key for most investors.

Iulian Nistor, whose idea for a product won $15,000 in the graduate and faculty division, said that the competition has helped him "learn how to stop talking like a scientist," so he can make his invisible barcoding technology appealing to potential clients.

The money must go toward the development of the company or it will be returned to the school for next year's competition.

(Copyright 2006 by Capital News Service. All Rights Reserved.)