Houston, TX – May 10, 2011 – The 2011 Rice Business Plan Competition (RBPC) once again proved to be the place to be for entrepreneurs to communicate their business plans to more than 250 distinguished judges. The competition is held by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship in Houston, Texas and this year awarded more than $1.3 million in cash and prizes to 42 teams from around the world.
Even though economy is improving, there is still a struggle to obtain funding for start-ups. This 11th annual RBPC event provided a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to promote their business ideas and obtain funding from venture capital investors and business leaders. David Quackenbush, Mike Alsup and Cynthia Wood, from Gimmal, participated as judges and selected QR Code City, from Brigham Young University, as the winner of the Gimmal IT Award.
QR Code City allows users to create bar codes that can be scanned from mobile devices. Once scanned, the bar code takes the visitor to websites, contact info and other information. Their popular Scan app is available for iPhones and can be downloaded from here. In addition to the award from Gimmal, QR Code City also won the Best Elevator Pitch – Teen, Spirit of Entrepreneurship, Best Elevator Pitch, Overall, 2nd Place and Semi-Final Round, Flight 1, 3rd Place awards for a total of $9750 in funding.
"My team and I are three young designer/developers who got together in January of 2011. The RBPC proved to be a great opportunity for us to get both initial exposure and cash for our startup venture. It was especially satisfying to win the Gimmal IT and other awards and receive recognition for all of our hard work and efforts” stated Garrett Gee, QR Code City. (Photo: Cynthia Wood, Ben Turley, Kirk Ouimet, Garrett Gee, Mike Alsup)
“It’s exciting to be a part of an event that encourages innovation and fresh ideas. As an entrepreneur company that was founded in 2002, a particularly challenging period in our economy, we are pleased to support startups in getting their businesses off the ground” said David Quackenbush, President, Gimmal.
About Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship
The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (Rice Alliance) is Rice University’s nationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education, and the launch of technology companies. It was formed as a strategic alliance of three schools: the George R. Brown School of Engineering, the Wiess School of Natural Sciences and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business.
Since its inception in 2000, the Rice Alliance has assisted in the launch of more than 250 start-ups which have raised more than half a billion dollars in early-stage capital. More than 750 companies have presented at the 115+ programs hosted by the Rice Alliance. For more information, visit www.alliance.rice.edu.
About Gimmal
Gimmal is a nationally recognized consulting, technology services and solutions company serving customers in industry and government. Gimmal collaborates as a trusted advisor to improve our clients’ business performance and compliance at lower total costs. We deliver proven Information, Records and Enterprise Content Management solutions built upon the industry’s leading technology platforms. For more information, visit www.gimmal.com.
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Media Contact - Gimmal
Shanthi Subramanian
Phone: 713-586-6535
Fax: 713-586-6501
shanthi.subramanian@gimmal.com
www.gimmal.com