The business plans for a software company that aims to turn cell phones into personal security alarms connected to law enforcement offices, a manufacturer of nontoxic surf boards and a business built upon technology that turns PDF documents into searchable and easily managed data are among six finalists announced today in the 2007 R.I. Business Plan Competition.
The annual competition, which seeks to promote entrepreneurship and the development of startup and early-stage companies in Rhode Island, is supported by 24 companies, organizations, public agencies and universities in the state.
The finalists in the entrepreneur track are:
• Michael Glier of Jamestown, whose Campus Guardian Corp. is developing software that turns GPS-enabled cell phones into personal security devices that automatically notify a university security organization in an emergency situation.
• David Durand of Providence, CEO and co-founder of Tizra Inc., a startup company developing a hosted service that lets publishers successfully sell and distribute PDF documents as easily searchable and manageable online content.
• Scituate resident Frank Lubrano, whose Ultimo Measurement makes a technology that is the first non-contact, non-invasive measurement and material analysis tool that can be used with both liquid and loose solid materials in a process or storage mode.
Student-track finalists are:
• Brad Weinberg and Rajiv Kumar, medical students at Brown University, whose Providence Health Solutions LLC is working to help employers lower their health care costs via a workplace wellness program that uses team-based weight loss and exercise competitions to motivate behavior change.
• Lindsay Redmond, a student at the Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, whose Sonicfoam LLC is developing a new way to process polyurethane foam for surfboards that eliminates dependency on toxic chemicals currently used in surfboard foam production.
• Michael Carriere, a computer science student at Syracuse University, whose Zapdot Interactive LLC is developing an online subscription service for competitive online gaming teams that will organize and improve gaming teams by providing various management tools and utilities.
“The judges were impressed by the uniformly high quality of all the plans submitted,” said Garrett B. Hunter, co-chairman of the competition and of the Business Development Co. of Rhode Island.
Two winners – one each in this year’s entrepreneur and student tracks – will be announced next Tuesday, May 1, during the Business Expo at the R.I. Convention Center in Providence.
Each winner will receive prizes valued at $67,500, including cash and in-kind services from Rhode Island companies and organizations.
Additional information about next week’s Business Expo at the R.I. Convention Center, which also will feature the Brown Forum for Enterprise’s final meeting of the academic year, is available at www.brownenterpriseforum.org.
