VGSOM shines at RICE University B-Plan Competition 2007

The VGSOM – IIT-Kharagpur team has put forth a fantastic performance at the Rice University Business Plan Competition 2007 by bringing laurels on several fronts.

Rice University Business Plan Competition (RBPC) is the richest guaranteed prize money intercollegiate business plan competition in the world. The competition is hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University. Thirty-six teams from top MBA programs are selected to compete at Rice University, in Houston Texas, for over $285,000 in prizes; including an investment opportunity of $100,000 for the grand prize winner.

To begin with the VGSOM-IIT KGP team was the only team from India that qualified this year for the semi finals of the competition. The team won the 3rd Prize in the Challenger Round with teams like Harvard University and University of Waterloo ranked below it. The team received a special mention in the Best International Award Category. In addition to that it was one of the 6 teams (out of a total of 36) that qualified for the DOW Sustainability Flight – Best Sustainability Business Plan.

The team (BioPure) is a multidisciplinary team with members from the Biotech Deptt. , Electrical Engg. Deptt. and VGSOM. The team comprised of Mahesh Kumar Bukka & Sumit Saxena; both students of MBA, First Year at Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT-KGP and Gobind Singh Bisht (B. Tech, 3rd Yr, Biotech Deptt) and Sriram Sarma (Jr. Project Officer, Electrical Engg Deptt).

The team has developed an innovative pasteurizer for pasteurization of Milk, Beer & Fruit juice based on Pulsed Field Electroporation (PEF) Technology. PEF is a disruptive technology that is approved by FDA for pasteurization of Food & Beverages. BioPure Pasteurizers utilize Pulsed Electric Field (PEF) technology, it increases shelf life from 2-7 days to 20 days, lead to energy savings from 20% to 50% (for the manufacturer) and maintain high quality of taste and nutrition.

The team received an award of $ 4,600 from the IIT Foundation and IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation India in recognition of the team's achievement. Several IIT alumni generously contributed to raise funds for the award, the award helped the team in financing its trip to participate at Rice business plan competition.

Not to forget, the team got the opportunity to meet and network with over 150 experienced venture capital principals, early stage investors, successful entrepreneurs and/or senior business leaders who served as judges for the competition. The VGSOM-IIT-KGP team received attention of several venture capitalists seeking to invest in India.

Needless to say, a remarkable feat by the budding entrepreneurs of India!