2012 International Impact Investing Challenge: Kellogg School of Management and Haas School of Business … - Yahoo Finance

EVANSTON, Ill., March 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Financial vehicles that deliver social and environmental impact continue to be a growing area of interest for investors. To spur interest in this emerging field, the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley are sponsoring the 2012 International Impact Investing Challenge. The challenge provides graduate students the opportunity to create high-performance, high-reward, high-impact investment strategies.

"Now in its second year, the International Impact Investing Challenge encourages students from graduate schools around the world to identify strategies that create solutions for global social issues – as well as deliver financial returns," said Jamie Jones, associate director of the Social Enterprise at Kellogg (SEEK) program at the Kellogg School. "Last year, student teams wowed us with their financial creativity, developing ideas to address issues like the food supply in India, clean power for First Nations, and mobile technology in emerging markets, and so we're excited to see the innovation that students will bring forth in the 2012 competition." 

Teams were invited to submit a prospectus by March 8. Ten finalist teams will present their proposals at a final event at the Federal Reserve Bank in San Francisco on April 13. The judging panel will be comprised of experienced officers and investors who currently manage family foundations, pension funds and university endowments, among others, and $15,000 in prizes will be awarded to the winning teams.

"We have a real opportunity here to elevate and showcase the intersection of finance and social impact that is a primary area of study for many Haas students," said Jo Mackness, executive director of the Center for Responsible Business (CRB) at Berkeley-Haas.

The International Impact Investing Challenge is sponsored by New World Ventures; Equilibrium Capital Group; The McCall Foundation; Forest Capital Partners LLC; Impact Assets; the Carol & Larry Levy Social Entrepreneurship Lab; the Calvert Foundation; the Milken Institute; and Water Asset Management LLC.

"We are proud to be part of a program that challenges business school students to apply their creativity and finance education to build investment strategies that deliver market returns and impact," said Dave Chen, managing principal at Equilibrium Capital Group. "These student projects show us that returns and positive impact are simply good investing."

More Info: To obtain a press pass to the event or to schedule an interview, contact Betsy Berger at b-berger@kellogg.northwestern.edu or Pamela Tom at ptom@haas.berkeley.edu. To learn more about the International Impact Investing Challenge, visit www.impactinvestingchallenge.org. For more information about the Kellogg School of Management, visit www.kellogg.northwestern.edu. For more information about the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, visit http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/

MEDIA CONTACT:
Betsy Berger
Kellogg School of Management
Office: 847-467-3108
b-berger@kellogg.northwestern.edu

View the original article here

Business Plan Challenge launches new features, opportunities for entrepreneurs - Miami Herald

At an event last week, an audience member gave an elevator pitch for his company called Sweat EquiTees, which sells t-shirts with slogans like “Run LLC” and “Kiss me, I’m an Entrepreneur.”

Yes, entrepreneurship is in fashion these days. The Startup Florida event, which featured speeches by six Miami area startups and mentoring sessions, was just one of dozens of meetups, workshops and other programs planned this month — and every month — around South Florida. That’s a good thing.

Yet, the Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge has been an annual tradition since 1999. Now in its 14th year, the entrepreneurship contest has remained popular despite what’s going in the economy. Today, marks our call for entries, and you’ll find contest rules, judges’ bios and more starting on page 16.

And just like the startups we spotlight inside, the Business Plan Challenge is growing and evolving, with new opportunities and features offered with the help of community partners:

• We’re bringing back the Business Plan Bootcamp. The workshop will be led by Melissa Krinzman, a veteran Business Plan challenge judge and expert in business planning, and will be held March 6 at Miami Dade College. More details to come, but we’ll be putting a big emphasis on financials in this seminar, an area that was generally weak in entries last year.

• As a partner benefit from the Miami Innovation Fund, which invests in very early stage companies, at least three of the Business Plan Challenge finalists will have the opportunity to present in a Shark Tank-like event and could receive a term sheet for up to $20,000 in funding. The fund will choose the presenters from among the finalists in all tracks, based on its criteria. For Challenge contestants, this partner benefit offers another potential opportunity for exposure, connections and education.

•  In coming days, we will be launching a blog called The Starting Gate. We’ll share news and views from entrepreneurial experts, shining a light on the rich resources our community offers. We hope you will find the blog useful and inspirational, whether you are running a company or just thinking about it.

•  An entrepreneurship class at Florida International University will work with about 10 Business Plan Challenge contestants on further developing their business plans. Professor Martin Luytjes presented the idea after the Challenge last year, and in the fall class members worked in teams with entrepreneurs from the Challenge. Students got a real-world view of starting a company, and entrepreneurs received help from the students. Luytjes is making the offer again.

• And Feb. 23, together with Florida International University’s Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center, we’ll be hosting another Small Business Forum. Hear from entrepreneurs who have been in the trenches of Web-based and international-focused businesses. Learn about financing your company. More information is available at miamiherald.com/smallbusiness.

We’ll be telling you more about all these opportunities in the weeks to come, as well as sharing advice and resources on entrepreneurship. Keep reading Business Monday and MiamiHerald.com/challenge and follow me on Twitter @ndahlberg to keep up with the latest.

Let’s make this our best year yet.

Nancy Dahlberg is an assistant business editor and Business Plan Challenge coordinator.

View the original article here

Business Plan Challenge launches new features, opportunities for entrepreneurs - Miami Herald

At an event last week, an audience member gave an elevator pitch for his company called Sweat EquiTees, which sells t-shirts with slogans like “Run LLC” and “Kiss me, I’m an Entrepreneur.”

Yes, entrepreneurship is in fashion these days. The Startup Florida event, which featured speeches by six Miami area startups and mentoring sessions, was just one of dozens of meetups, workshops and other programs planned this month — and every month — around South Florida. That’s a good thing.

Yet, the Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge has been an annual tradition since 1999. Now in its 14th year, the entrepreneurship contest has remained popular despite what’s going in the economy. Today, marks our call for entries, and you’ll find contest rules, judges’ bios and more starting on page 16.

And just like the startups we spotlight inside, the Business Plan Challenge is growing and evolving, with new opportunities and features offered with the help of community partners:

• We’re bringing back the Business Plan Bootcamp. The workshop will be led by Melissa Krinzman, a veteran Business Plan challenge judge and expert in business planning, and will be held March 6 at Miami Dade College. More details to come, but we’ll be putting a big emphasis on financials in this seminar, an area that was generally weak in entries last year.

• As a partner benefit from the Miami Innovation Fund, which invests in very early stage companies, at least three of the Business Plan Challenge finalists will have the opportunity to present in a Shark Tank-like event and could receive a term sheet for up to $20,000 in funding. The fund will choose the presenters from among the finalists in all tracks, based on its criteria. For Challenge contestants, this partner benefit offers another potential opportunity for exposure, connections and education.

•  In coming days, we will be launching a blog called The Starting Gate. We’ll share news and views from entrepreneurial experts, shining a light on the rich resources our community offers. We hope you will find the blog useful and inspirational, whether you are running a company or just thinking about it.

•  An entrepreneurship class at Florida International University will work with about 10 Business Plan Challenge contestants on further developing their business plans. Professor Martin Luytjes presented the idea after the Challenge last year, and in the fall class members worked in teams with entrepreneurs from the Challenge. Students got a real-world view of starting a company, and entrepreneurs received help from the students. Luytjes is making the offer again.

• And Feb. 23, together with Florida International University’s Eugenio Pino and Family Global Entrepreneurship Center, we’ll be hosting another Small Business Forum. Hear from entrepreneurs who have been in the trenches of Web-based and international-focused businesses. Learn about financing your company. More information is available at miamiherald.com/smallbusiness.

We’ll be telling you more about all these opportunities in the weeks to come, as well as sharing advice and resources on entrepreneurship. Keep reading Business Monday and MiamiHerald.com/challenge and follow me on Twitter @ndahlberg to keep up with the latest.

Let’s make this our best year yet.

Nancy Dahlberg is an assistant business editor and Business Plan Challenge coordinator.

View the original article here