Each year Terry MBA students compete in national case and business plan competitions. On average, one or two business start-ups per year result from their participation in the Entrepreneurship program. Because of its strong reputation, UGA receives "automatic" invitations to 10 of the 13 national and international business plan competitions held in the U.S. & Canada each year, and has placed teams in the three "open" competitions 15 of the 18 times it has entered.
Terry also competes annually in the NBMBAA/Chrysler Case Competition; its teams have reached the finals four times in the last five years. In 2005, the Terry MBA team took first place; in 2006, the team placed third.
A team of five Terry MBA students, advised by marketing professor Bobby Friedmann, won the Third Solvay Challenge case competition in Atlanta. The team of Adrienne Hudson, Amy Luckie, Howard Berzack, Arundel Simpson and Irakli Akhvlediani beat case teams from Emory University and Georgia Tech to win the Nov. 16 competition.
The case involved the creation of a comprehensive business plan to introduce an anti-obesity drug into the U.S. market. This was the first time the Terry College participated in the case competition. Solvay is a multinational company based in Belgium, specializing in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and plastics.
Thanks to his grandfather's homemade recipe and a business plan honed as a Terry MBA student, Jay Mullis (BBA '00, MBA '07) emerged the winner of Fortune Small Business magazine's fifth annual new venture competition. Mullis' plan will bring to market environmentally friendly, pet-safe roach bait, called Green Dragon Roach Kill, that his grandfather invented in the 1980s.
Mullis and his business plan teammates won national competitions in Oregon and Idaho, along with $63,000 in prize money. Mullis has used a portion of the prize money to pursue patent protection and obtain EPA approval for his roach kill formula and will set up production in Danville, Ga.
Mullis told Fortune Small Business at the Oct. 15 competition that he plans to target his sales to large pest-control companies rather than go straight to the retail market. "Their customers are asking them for a green solution. I've got it." One of the judges of the final round in New York said all the finalists had well-conceived plans, but the judges had to pick the entrepreneur who could best articulate his or her vision. "Entrepreneurship is not about a plan, but the execution of a plan," said Stephen Watkins, CEO of Entrex Inc. and a judge in the finals. "Communicating the plan's vision is an integral part. And at this stage of his enterprise, the judges saw Jay as a capable entrepreneur who had a viable plan who could articulate his vision."
Other recognition for this team include: 1st place in the 2007 Boise State University Northwest Venture Championship, winning 10,000 cash prize and automatic entry to the 2007 International Challenge of Moot Corp in Texas. The team placed 2nd in Moot Corp among U.S. teams and 4th in the world.
T&T International, another Terry MBA Business Plan team, placed 1st in the 2007 Georgia Bowl Business Plan Competition. In addition to this win, they received an award for Best Written Plan & 2nd place for Best Verbal Presentation. They also placed 3rd among U.S. teams and tied for 5th in the world at the Moot Corp Competition. This is the seventh time in the past eight years that UGA has qualified two teams for Moot Corp. T&T International opened its doors for business in the fall of 2007 as an importer, processor, and distributor of superior quality fresh seafood from around the world for the American market.
The Terry MBA program has long been recognized as one of the top U.S. and global MBA programs by BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, The [London] Financial Times, Forbes and other publications. Additionally, Money and Kiplinger's continue to rank the University of Georgia as one of the top public institutions in the U.S.
© 2000 - 2008 The University of Georgia, Terry College of Business. All Rights Reserved.
UGA | Terry | WebCT | OASIS | UGAMail | UGA Portal | Library | Gwinnett Campus | UGA Directory | Interactive Campus Map | Search UGA website
Page Updated on Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Blackboard | Technology@Terry | PR@Terry | Contact Us | About this Site | Text-Only Version
