R.I. Business Plan names semifinalists

PROVIDENCE – Business models that would create an online forum for circulating and selling advertising ideas, a cost-saving label-printing system and a self-administered anti-infection application were among the 12 semifinalists announced today by sponsors of the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition.

The semifinalists were culled from 57 entries (last year’s competition drew 58 submissions).

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“The entrepreneurial spirit is most definitely alive and well in Rhode Island,” Johnson & Wales University College of Business Dean David Mitchell, competition co-chair, said in a statement.

Thirty-five proposals came in for the “Entrepreneur Track” and 22 came in for the “Student Track.” Each of the six student semifinalists are enrolled at Brown University, marking the first time a school has swept the competition.
“The quality and range of business ideas reflected in the applications we received are as strong as ever,” Business Development Company of Rhode Island President Garrett B. Hunter, who also co-chairs the competition, said in a statement. “Narrowing down the proposals to six semifinalists in each track is never easy, since many of the plans that didn’t make the cut still have great potential.”

The six finalists, three from each category, will be announced during the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce Business Expo 2009 on May 5. The winner will receive about $130,000 in cash and other prizes.

Entrepreneur semifinalists:

• Asphalt Shingle Recycling, from Barrington’s Dan Horton: A recycling plan that would create a recycling path encouraging roofers to recycle.

• BioIntraface Inc., from East Providence’s David Spencer: Proprietary anti-infection technology, aimed at stopping infections caused by medical devices.

• Life Over Times Solutions, from Westerly’s Lisa Nelson: Health-record technology intended to enhance quality of life and reduce costs.

• Sidekicks, from Middletown’s Jon Smyth: A forearm crutch “emphasizing ability instead of disability,” which could help boost self-esteem.

• The Empowered Patient Infection Defense Kit, from East Greenwich’s Pat Mastors: A self-administered anti-infection application.

• Ultimo Measurement LLC, from Scituate’s Frank Lubrano: Technology that would allow for cheaper, more accurate and easier density measurement on nano-sized material.

Student semifinalists:

• BestGiraffe, from Neerav Parekh: An online forum through which freelance designers could post and sell their advertising and connect with ad-seeking companies.

• Blink LLC, from Eunice Png: Stain- and leak-resistant underwear to prevent menstrual spills.

• Minds in Motion Electronics EEG Toys Company, from Max Lang: Technology that would introduce the electroencephalography technique into interactive gaming.

• NuLabel Printing Solutions, from Max Winograd: The development of a long-lasting, liner-free label printing system that could cut costs and lower waste.

• Rapid Influenza Detection, from Ashmeet Kapoor: The development of a lower-cost, 30-minute test to determine strain and subtype of influenza.

• Runa, from Daniel MacCombie: An energy drink company that makes its product from a tree indigenous to the Amazon rainforest. The drink would create “nutritious, sustained energy … without the jitters or crash of energy drinks or coffee.”

Additional information about the 2009 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition – including contest rules and guidelines, application procedures and business-planning resources – is available from the nonprofit Business Development Company of Rhode Island (BCDRI) at www.ri-bizplan.com.