Washington, April 17, 2008 - The Entrepreneurs' Organization, the world's most influential community of entrepreneurs, is pleased to announce the first winners of the U.S. regional virtual competitions of the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards, presented in partnership with Mercedes-Benz Financial. The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards recognize the world's top undergraduate student entrepreneur who is juggling the demands of a full course load with running a business. To qualify for the award, students must have an operating business that has been generating revenue for at least six months.
Similar to Dell Computer founder Michael Dell, a former member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization who started his company in his dorm room at school, these students have a passion for entrepreneurship- a leading driver of economies worldwide.
In the United States, regional “virtual” competitions will take place over the next six months, allowing students to present their businesses virtually to a panel of successful entrepreneurs in a webinar-type format. The winner of the first regional virtual competition, held March 28, was William Finkman, a 23-year-old student from California State University who runs a company called I Sold it on Ebay. During his presentation, Finkman demonstrated success in overcoming obstacles and a clear vision of where he wants to take his company. The second place winner was Cameron Porter of Snowshack Oasis. Porter, a student at Brigham Young University, has grown his company by more than 40 percent every year since its founding. Porter's company provides shaved ice products.
The second virtual competition took place on April 10, and the winner was 22-year-old Craig Martyn from California State University, CEO of BLMA Models, a provider of accessories to the model railroad community. The second place winner was Scott Skelly from the University of Wisconsin. Skelly's business is Corn Mazes of America, which provides services to farmers who are looking for additional revenue through tourism.
According to Bob Strade, Managing Director of the Entrepreneurs' Organization, “The uniqueness of this competition is that students are juggling the demands of school while running, in some cases, multi-million dollar companies. We want to support these students by recognizing their efforts and providing them with connections to experts within our organization to help them further expand their companies. We hope this competition inspires other students to follow their entrepreneurial dreams.”
Started at St. Louis University as a mid-west collegiate entrepreneur competition, the Entrepreneurs' Organization has expanded the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards program through its vast network of local chapters and has helped to develop the program globally. For more information on the awards, including a list of past winners and instructions for nominating a student, visit the GSEA website at www.gsea.org.
About the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO)
The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) - for entrepreneurs only - is a dynamic global network of more than 6,600 business owners in 38 countries. Founded in 1987 by a group of young entrepreneurs, EO is the catalyst that enables entrepreneurs to learn and grow from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life. Membership in one of EO's 108 chapters is by invitation only; the average member is 39 years old with annual revenues of US$15.5 million. For more information on EO, visit www.eonetwork.org.
About Mercedes-Benz Financial
Mercedes-Benz Financial provides financing for Mercedes-Benz dealers' inventories and their retail customers. Currently, 350,000 drivers in the United States enjoy the benefits of leasing or financing their Mercedes-Benz vehicles through Mercedes-Benz Financial, which is part of DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC. DCFSA's group of companies operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and South America. DCFSA is part of the DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Group, headquartered in Berlin, Germany, which operates in 39 countries and has an employee base close to 11,000 and a global portfolio of approximately $147 billion. DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Group is one of the leading financial services enterprises worldwide. For more information visit www.MercedesBenzFinancial.com.
About St. Louis University
Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business is EO's senior strategic partner for the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards. The School originally founded the awards in 1988 as the Midwest Collegiate Entrepreneur Awards program. Throughout the 1990s, SLU's Center for Entrepreneurial Studies extended the program within the United States, expanding to Asia, Europe and Latin America in the last five years. The Entrepreneurs' Organization assumed the administration of the awards in January 2006, with the Cook School continuing to serve on EO's GSEA administrative and judging boards, as well as a regional sponsor of GSEA. EO looks forward to building upon SLU's strong foundation as it creates the premiere global learning community for emerging entrepreneurs.