Newswise — Outshining six superb teams of budding student-entrepreneurs from throughout the University, students Tyler Durham (McIntire ’12), Celine Heckel-Jones (Engineering ’12), and Virginia Robinson (McIntire ’12) were awarded top honors—and $20,000 in seed money—in the 2011 University of Virginia Entrepreneurship Cup, held Friday, Nov. 18, 2011. The McIntire team outcompeted top teams from UVA’s Curry School of Education, Darden School of Business, School of Law, School of Engineering & Applied Science, and College of Arts & Sciences. The first runner-up team, from the Social Entrepreneurship Track for its entry PowerSole, received $10,000, and two honorable mention teams, representing the Curry School and the Law School, each received $5,000. Tom Skalak, Vice President for Research, UVA’s Office of the Vice President for Research; Tyler Durham; Virginia Robinson; Celine Heckel-Jones; Sharon Krueger, Innovation Partnerships Coordinator, Office of the Vice President for Research “This year’s UVA Cup competition was outstanding,” says McIntire Professor Brendan Richardson, who teaches COMM 4680, “Entrepreneurship.” “Every one of the concepts presented has real potential as a business or a successful social venture.” Indeed, says Richardson, “it was very hard, even for someone like me who has been in venture capital for 12 years, to predict which group would take first place.” Richardson notes that several of the ideas already have patents pending.
Novel Idea, Thorough Preparation The McIntire team presented a proposal for a business called “Memoria,” an online webhosting site that allows families to create virtual memorials for their deceased loved ones. “There are certain features that modern social networking sites lack that we believe could be provided to help families and friends during the grieving process,” says team member Robinson. “We built the idea for Memoria around that need.” Robinson says that in preparation for competition, she and her teammates spent a tremendous amount of time researching the funeral industry, speaking with funeral directors and industry experts, and working to create a compelling product demo and viable pricing strategy. In addition, she says, Richardson’s COMM 4680, in which she and Durham are both currently students, proved “invaluable” throughout the competitive process. Superb Presentation
What helped to distinguish the McIntire team from its competitors, Richardson says, was the students’ ability to clearly communicate Memoria’s potential. “Virginia, Tyler, and Celine did an outstanding job of presenting their idea and business concept,” Richardson says. “The judges responded very favorably to the way the Memoria was explained; the students very articulately laid out the need for Memoria, the solution the business offered, and the business model. It was clear that they had done a lot of work on the business already, and they had in-depth and thoughtful answers for the judges’ questions.” Richardson says that the students’ performance offered “a great testament to the preparation and polish that students gain at McIntire.” Looking Ahead More than that, Richardson says, this year’s Entrepreneurship Cup offered a great testament to the entrepreneurial climate at UVA as a whole. “I am really excited about the state of entrepreneurship at UVA at the moment,” he says. “There were so many great concepts presented—some of which didn’t even make it to the finals—that are really worth supporting. We need to make sure these students and faculty have access to the resources, expertise, and coaching that can help them to get to the next level and to succeed.”
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