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| Winning students presented LaunchTown 2009 Grand Prize by Adam Shapiro (l) and Tom Barratt (r) |
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2009 Winners Announced
The LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards
The "Best Idea" Competition for College Students
On April 2nd, 2009, the venture and angel community heard the winners and
watched as over $40,000 in prizes were awarded to area students with
the BEST IDEA for a new business, product or service.
LaunchTown is the single largest program of its kind, involving more
than a dozen area colleges and universities, presenting the
youngest and brightest of Northeast Ohio and their
winning ideas for creating new wealth.
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The 2009 LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards
Presented by:
Advance Northeast Ohio, Akron ARCHAngels, Burton D. Morgan Foundation,
BZ Media, Cedar Summit Consulting, Charter One Bank, Civic Innovation Lab, Delta Resources,
Entrepreneurs Association, Entrepreneurship Education Consortium, JumpStart, Lincoln Electric,
MedXSales, Meyers Roman, Morning Mist, NorthCoast Angel Fund, Ohio Venture Association,
Palitto Consulting Group, PCT Law Group, The Tom Barratt Companies
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| Adam Shapiro of FOX Business |
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Host for the 2009 LaunchTown "Best Idea" Competition - Adam Shapiro of Fox Business Network (FBN). Based in FBN's bureau in Washington D.C. this past year, Adam was providing much of FBN's intensive coverage on the nation's foreclosure crisis. Last fall saw Adam returning to FBN's New York bureau where he has since been a key member of FBN's team covering the Wall Street Meltdown, including the Bernie Madoff Scandal.
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| Ronn Richard, President & CEO of the Cleveland Foundation |
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Ronn Richard - Keynote Speaker - LaunchTown 2009
Ohio Governor Ted Strickland has appointed Ronn Richard to the position of Infrastructure Czar for the State of Ohio. Mr. Richard will work with the federal government to ensure that Ohio's $4 billion to $6 billion infrastructure component of the Economic Stimulus Package is best invested to create jobs and economic development. As president & CEO of The Cleveland Foundation, Mr. Richard's is well-versed in economic development and investment. The Cleveland Foundation is the nation's oldest community foundation and third-largest, with assets of over $2 billion. Prior to joining the Cleveland Foundation, Mr. Richard was the managing partner and chief operating officer of the CIA’s venture capital fund. He is a former U.S. diplomat having served in Japan and the former president of North American research and development for Matsushita Electric (Panasonic).
Warren Anderson - Honored Guest Speaker
Warren Anderson is founder and president of The Anderson-DuBose Company, a $200 million distribution company based in Solon, Ohio. Mr. Anderson has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by both the U.S. Department of Commerce and Ernst & Young.
Mr. Anderson serves on numerous boards, including the Playhouse Square Foundation and the Cuyahoga Community College Foundation. He is also the noted recipient of the NAACP Distinguised Service Award.
Phil Brennan - Special Guest Speaker
Phil Brennan is the Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of ReXorce Thermionics, one of Northeast Ohio's most promising advanced technology companies, turning waste heat into new energy. ReXorce is a leader in the JumpStart Portfolio of Companies and has most recently closed a multi-million dollar deal with a group of international investors.
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| Warren Anderson, President of The Anderson-DuBose Company |
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| Phil Brennan, COO of ReXorce Thermionics |
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The LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards are an idea competition, seeking students with the BEST IDEA for a new business, product or service to create wealth. LaunchTown is open to all undergrad students, of all majors, from all four year colleges in Northeast Ohio.
The Entrepreneurship Education Consortium and the LaunchTown Awards Association presented over $40,000 in cash and service prizes at the Third Annual LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards - hosted by Baldwin-Wallace College on Thursday April 2nd, 2009. LaunchTown is the top annual event for venture and angel investors coming out to see the number one winning ideas from students across the region. A total of eight winning teams competed from Northeast Ohio's finest universities and colleges and presented their Best Ideas. Learn more about the 2009 Grand Prize Winners.
John Carroll University hosted the Second Annual LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards which took place in 2008. A total of six finalists, both individual students and student teams, competed and were awarded over $20,000 in cash and service prizes at the 2008 event.
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| Student winners receive $5,000 LaunchTown Prize 2008 |
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John Osher was the Keynote Speaker for the 2008 LaunchTown Entrepreneurship Awards held at John Carroll University. John's story is that of a dynamic “serial entrepreneur” who has developed literally hundreds of consumer products in his career, everything from energy saving devices to baby products, toys and candy, and many household appliances.
John has built and sold numbers of successful businesses to major corporations and is most popularly known as the guy who brought the “five dollar electric toothbrush” to the world. Launched as the SpinBrush, in only fifteen months, it became the top selling toothbrush in the U.S. He started "Dr John’s" toothbrush company in 1999 and sold the venture to Procter and Gamble only two years later at a record-breaking multiple for the industry, rumored at close to half-a-billion dollars.
John Osher has over fifty patents and has developed numbers of other products which he has ultimately sold to Fortune 500 companies. He is a well regarded supporter of the Arts, and is also a Tony Award winning Broadway Producer.
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| John Osher (left) presents award to LaunchTown winner |
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| Click the above and see the
60 second tribute to the 2008
LAUNCHTOWN AWARDS
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"BEST IDEA"
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