Six Start-Ups Compete in the Babson College $100,000+ Business Plan Competitions

WELLESLEY, Mass., April 1, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Six Babson student businesses including:

* two waste renewable companies

* a medical counseling website

* a fast-serve crepe franchise

* a social networking site and

* a business intelligence technology firm

will participate in the final round of the Babson College Business Plan Competitions during the school's Celebrating Student Venturing day Thursday, April 14, 2011.  Visit: http://www3.babson.edu/Events/studentventuring/.

Babson founded the very first college business plan competition in 1984.  Today awards total more than $100,000 in cash and services in-kind.

Finalists—Douglass Foundation Graduate Business Plan Competition

* ATIKEN Renewables turns agricultural waste into renewable, carbon neutral energy.

* Golden Health Guide (www.goldenhealthguide.com) is a website helping seniors and their families make more informed purchasing decisions by providing expert reviews of home medical products.

* SkyCrepers, LLC is an innovative new fast-serve crepe franchise model that bridges the gap between the street cart and the foo-foo cafe.

Finalists - John H. Muller Jr. Undergraduate Business Plan Competition

* Down to Earth Waste Solutions LLC (www.d2ewaste.com, @D2EWaste) offers an affordable organic waste collection and composting service for small businesses in the Boston area. The organic waste is processed locally into D2E's own organic soil products. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4gHB7pJs1U

* Nodes (www.nodesbeta.com, @nodesbeta) is an online collaboration platform that will provide social networking and management tools at the group level.

* Redeemr, Inc. (www.getredeemr.com, @Redeemr) Cloud-based business intelligence and customer retention tools for small to medium-sized businesses.

Sponsors

Platinum Sponsors

Vistaprint (Nasdaq: VPRT) provides more than eight million small businesses and consumers per year with the easiest way to make an impression at the best price. With a unique business model supported by proprietary technologies, high volume production facilities, and direct marketing expertise, Vistaprint offers a wide variety of products for both small businesses home such as postcards, checks and graduation announcements and keychains. Vistaprint and the Vistaprint logo are trademarks of Vistaprint N.V. or its subsidiaries.

Pepper Hamilton LLP, founded in 1890, is an internationally recognized law firm with more than 500 lawyers nationally. The firm provides corporate, litigation and regulatory legal services to leading businesses, entrepreneurial ventures, private equity funds, governmental entities, nonprofit organizations and individuals throughout the nation and the world.

Gold Sponsors

Comcast

The Honorable Craig Benson

Genzyme

David F. Lamere

In-Kind Sponsors

BizLand, Inc.

Cummings Properties

Emerging Business Collaborative

Gray, Gray & Gray

Opus Two Collaborative

Other events taking place include

* Student Business of the Year Award (SBYA) Competition

* Meet the Shark: Daymond John remarks and competition

* Babson Creative Thinking Prize

Register at http://csv2011.eventbrite.com.

Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., is recognized internationally as a leader in entrepreneurial management education. Babson grants BS degrees through its innovative undergraduate program, and grants MBA and custom MS and MBA degrees through the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Babson Executive Education offers executive development programs to experienced managers worldwide. For information, visit www.babson.edu.

SOURCE Babson College