Chris Ashton
Co-Founder, FETCH! Pet Insurance (previously PAWS)
Wharton Business Plan Competition 2002-2003 Grand Prize Winner
"The Wharton Business Plan Competition was one of the highlights of my experience at Wharton. The feedback we received at every stage of the competition was extremely detailed, insightful and constructive and allowed us to constantly refine the plan and think about our business in a commercial manner rather than as a purely academic exercise. Winning the Business Plan Competition was the culmination of 18 months of hard work with tremendous support from faculty across all departments and the Venture Initiation Program. Following the competition, the media exposure has exceeded our expectations and has led to numerous new leads and requests for information for the business."
Jatinder Bhatti
Kirpan, Inc.
Wharton Business Plan Competition 2000-2001 Finalist
"The Wharton Business Plan Contest was without question the most energizing event I have been involved in at Wharton. Where else would you have the opportunity to present your business idea to a wide collection of venture capitalists, media representatives, and the Wharton faculty? If anyone is serious about entrepreneurship at Wharton, then they must enter the contest."
Divesh Makan
CEO and co-founder, Biometrix Secure Phone
Wharton Business Plan Competition 2000-2001 Finalist
"The most useful aspect of the Wharton [Business Plan Competition] was undoubtedly the advice and guidance from the mentor the insight that he provided with respect to the requirements of a VC for success were vital in the development of our [business plan]. My only advice is to start the mentor relationship as early as possible and attempt to get as many meetings as possible."
John Fox, WG01
Designware
Wharton Business Plan Competition 2000-2001 2nd Place Winner
"The Business Plan Competition was one of the best experiences I had at Wharton. It gave my team the opportunity to really pull together the business concepts that we had learned in class and apply them in a real world setting. The competition made our business plan much stronger -- thanks to some harsh criticism from the judges in the early rounds and some helpful suggestions from our assigned mentors in the later stages."
Ray Bower, WG02
Genoma: Genomic Antiaging Clinic
Wharton Business Plan Competition 2000-2001 3rd Place Winner
“The exposure that the business plan competition generated for us has been superb, and resulted in a mention of our company in Business Week and the invitation into the technology incubator."
Benjamin Doranz, Ph.D., WG01
ProtoCell
ViraCore
"The experience helped tie together my Wharton education with the practical challenges of gathering the resources, experiences, and guidelines that are necessary for business creation The WBPC enabled the integration of experiences and interests from students across the University. My own teams consisted of students from Wharton, Penn medical, Penn law, and Jefferson University. The challenges of succeeding in business today require integrating a diversity of experiences and expertise, and the WBPC challenged us to create a team that brought together all the perspectives."
