The UM School of Business will be hosting the 26th annual John Ruffatto Business Start-up Challenge, Thursday, May 14 at the Gallagher Business Building on the UM campus. 

Director of the Blackstone Launch Pad, Paul Gladen, said what was once called the Business Plan Competition has been renamed for a specific purpose.

"The name is now the John Ruffato Business Start-Up Challenge, which reflects a revolution in the start-up world," Gladen said. "With a start-up idea it's better to get out of the building and work on finding out whether or not the marketplace wants your idea, rather than just sitting down and writing a business plan."

Gladen said 16 teams have been winnowed from the dozens of entries for the competition.

"We've got a range of ideas from tech-related ideas to consulting and marketing services to food ideas, so we've got a good diverse mix of start-up ideas," he said. "The majority of the judges will be coming from across the state, with a mix of entrepreneurs, business people, bankers and the like with a good range of skills and perspectives to help us decide the winners."

Gladen said the prize money for this year will exceed $45,000.

"Last year the first prize was $10,000, but we expect the first prize money to go up considerably this year," Gladen said. "There will be some prize money awarded to every team that competes."

The finalists will present their start-up plans to the public audience at 5:30 p.m. on May 14 in the Gallagher Business Building on the UM campus. There is no charge to attend.

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