UNH Celebrates 20th Anniversary of State's First Business Plan Competition
By Lori Wright, Media Relations
May 7, 2008
UNH celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Whittemore School of Business and
Economics Paul J. Holloway Prize Competition -- the oldest business plan competition
in the state and one of the first in the nation – Wednesday, May 14.
“We are honored that Paul Holloway has supported and continues to support
our students’ efforts to take their ideas to the marketplace,” said
President Mark Huddleston. “In the last 20 years, hundreds of students
have tested their entrepreneurial ingenuity by competing for the Holloway Prize.
Many have gone on to implement their business plans and start successful ventures.”
The Paul J. Holloway Championship Round will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. in the
Squamscott Room of Holloway Commons. The event is free and open to the public.
The three teams competing in the championships will have advanced from the
Bud Albin Challenge Round, which took place May 3 at UNH Manchester.
The winner of the Paul J. Holloway Prize will be announced immediately following
the final competition at a reception in the Piscataqua and Cocheco rooms of
Holloway Commons. The students will receive their awards at a dinner reception
later in the evening.
The competition is designed to stimulate entrepreneurship throughout the campus.
Open to all UNH graduate and undergraduate students who have a plan for bringing
an innovative product or service to market, the competition helps students
to gain first-hand experience in commercializing new products and services,
provides access to faculty advisors and industry experts, and gives students
the chance to win up to $10,000 in seed money.
Students are judged on the innovation potential of the product, service or
business model; the market potential of the innovation; the persuasiveness
of the summary of the project; and the written quality and completeness of
the two-page summary. Contenders present their strategies before panels of
business leaders who judge their feasibility and merit.
“The Holloway Prize Competition is an important part of the student
experience at UNH and the Whittemore School. The rigor of the competition maximizes
its educational value, prepares students for the realities of the business
world, and helps generate new business opportunities that will help to grow
the New Hampshire economy,” said Dan Innis, dean of the Whittemore School
of Business and Economics.
Established in 1988 by Holloway's family, the business plan competition is
the first and oldest in the state. It honors the business leader's entrepreneurial
spirit by stimulating and recognizing outstanding business plans.
Holloway began his career in the automotive industry and starting in 1967,
shaped a multi-franchise dealership emphasizing customer service and satisfaction.
Holloway then extended his business skills to the development and management
of eldercare facilities.
His strong commitment to public service has led to contributions as a member
of the USNH Board of Trustees, the board of Berwick Academy, fund-raising programs
for Temple University in Pennsylvania and the Governor Dummer Academy in Massachusetts
in addition to involvement with other nonprofit organizations and charitable
programs.
The Bud Albin Challenge honors the UNH alumnus and entrepreneur who, in 2005,
established an endowment to encourage and advance entrepreneurship within the
Whittemore School. Albin, ’55, founded Albin Industries, at first supplying
the copier industry, and later expanding to include sales and service of both
copier and fax machines. By the time he sold his business to Konica Business
Machines in 1995, Albin Industries had 185 employees.
Chris Stone, '79, president and CEO of StreamServe Inc., will give the keynote
address at the reception and dinner following the final competition May 14.
Stone has been in the software technology business for 28 years, having served
first in product development with Data General and with Novell as its CEO/vice
chairman. In addition to his current firm, he founded and served as CEO of
two software companies, Object Management Group and Tilion, Inc. In 1997 he
started a $50 million venture fund that returned more than 300 percent.
Stone serves on the advisory board of EPIC Ventures, The Massachusetts IT
Advisory Board (gubernatorial appointment) and other small software companies.
He graduated from UNH and the Harvard Business School.
More information on the 20th Annual Paul J. Holloway Prize is available at
http://unh.edu/presidentialevents/hollowayprize/.
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