Student business plan contest ramps up

Nevada students are preparing for the second annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor's Cup, a business plan competition for university and college students that showcases Nevada as an entrepreneurial and business-savvy

state.

Student teams and their faculty advisors will compete for cash prizes in excess of $100,000. Prizes of $20,000, $10,000, and $5,000 go to the first, second and third place winners respectively.

"Among college students, this is an effective way to engage people," says Dave Archer, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology, which manages the competition.

One of the goals of the competition is to encourage the development and commercialization of ideas and technologies being discovered in the state's universities.

Multi-disciplinary teams combine students from technical disciplines with students from colleges of business, with a goal of bridging the gap between technology and the sponsors that include Nevada Power, Sierra Pacific Power Company, the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.

For more information visit www.dwrgovernorscup.org.

The deadline to file for entry is Feb. 15, and the deadline to submit business plans is March 17. Winners will be announced at the Donald W. Reynolds Governors Cup Award Gala on April 26 in Las Vegas.

The Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology said last week that Donald. D. Snyder, chairman of the Las Vegas Performing Arts Center, will be the Business Chair of the competition.

Snyder's previously was the president of the Boyd Gaming Co., president and chief executive officer of the Fremont Street Experience, and served from 1987 through 1991 as chairman of the board and chief executive officer of First Interstate Bank of Nevada.