University of Manitoba rings the NASDAQ closing bell
Once again the University of Manitoba has been invited to ring the closing bell at the NASDAQ Stock Exchange on August 20th 2010. NASDAQ is the largest electronic screen-based equity securities trading market in the United States and fourth largest by market capitalization in the world. With approximately 3,700 companies and corporations, it has more trading volume than any other stock exchange today. It is also one of the leading sponsors for the Stu Clark Investment Competition, which is an international graduate level business plan competition organized by the Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship (University of Manitoba), where students from all over North America pitch their ideas to venture capitalists. The Stuart Clark Investment Competition is more than an academic exercise as the products and services presented are real and the teams presenting them are serious about launching their venture.
The teams in this competition are vying for over $80,000 in cash and prizes. The winning team receives $15,000 in cash, personalized Manitoba Moose hockey jerseys, an automatic berth to the Venture Lab Investment Competition (previously Global MOOT Corp. Competition) in Austin, Texas, and an opportunity to close the NASDAQ exchange on Friday August 20th.
The winning team for this year’s Stu Clark Investment Competition was from the University of Arkansas, with their company Silicon Solar Solutions (previously - Green Valley Solar LLC). Their company is a licensing company with a process that reduces the costs of goods sold for current silicon based solar manufacturers by 26% with minimal re-tooling costs. They are already in contact with companies like Sanyo, Sharp, BP Solar, and EnergoSolar in regards to the possible integration of this new technology into their production facilities.
The University of Manitoba brings its own track record to the Stuart Clark Venture Challenge. It is the only Canadian university to consistently send a team to MOOT Corp Global based on winning one or more competitions in the U.S. The University of Manitoba was invited to this event because of its reputation for launching businesses based on the business plans developed by its students. The most successful of these businesses is Toronto-based NovaDAQ Technologies. Originally presented by Manitoba student Rick Mangat in 1999 at competitions across North America, NovaDAQ now trades on the TSX and was recently identified as one of the fastest growing technology firms in Canada. NovaDAQ however is only one of 18 companies launched based on business plans developed by University of Manitoba students. These businesses are in a variety of sectors ranging from agriculture to construction products.
For more information please contact Robert Warren, I. H. Asper Executive Director for Entrepreneurship, Stu Clark Centre for Entrepreneurship, Asper School of Business, University of Manitoba at 204-474-8422 or robert_warren@umanitoba.ca
