[CPN] RELEASE: Denver Office of Economic Development Announces Business Plan Competition Finalists

	City and County of Denver Office of Economic Development   Derek Woodbury Marketing/Public Relations Specialist O. 720.913.1608 derek.woodbury@denvergov.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Denver Office of Economic Development Announces Business Plan Competition Finalists Top ten finalists of City’s first ever business plan competition named as Innovation Award winners DENVER, CO ­— Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 — The Denver Office of Economic Development (OED) today announced the top ten finalists of its first ever JumpStart Biz Plan Awards. Launched earlier this summer, the program recognizes the top ten start-up and early-stage business finalists with tools to help their businesses thrive in Denver.   The top ten finalists, recognized by the OED as Innovation Award winners, are:   ·         AppIt Ventures ·         Big Mountain Robotics ·         Choozle ·         Fresh Takes Kitchen ·         Guerilla Gravity ·         Ibotta ·         One World Labs ·         Presm ·         The Uber Sausage ·         VertiFresh   Winners will each receive entrepreneurship mentoring through a one-year TiE Rockies general membership.   “When it comes to small business, each of our Innovation Award winners clearly demonstrates the entrepreneurial spirit, determination, creativity and strength to succeed in today’s market,” said OED Executive Director Paul Washington. “We’re proud to have each of these companies in Denver and we’re committed to their future growth and success.”   More than 150 businesses applied for the business plan competition earlier this summer. Applicants represented a wide variety of industries including technology, health care, biotechnology, finance, renewable energy and hospitality.   Innovation Award winners were reviewed by a judging panel of professionals from Regis University, Denver Public Library-BizBoost, Mountain Region Black Economic Summit, as well as program sponsors including Deloitte, Polsinelli Shughart and TiE Rockies.   Three of the Innovation Award winners, AppIt Ventures, One World Labs and VertiFresh, have been selected as the top three finalists of the JumpStart Biz Plan Awards. A judging event will be held this Thursday, in which each company will present overviews of their business plans and answer questions from a judging panel. The grand prize winner will be selected at the event.   The Denver Office of Economic Development (OED) is dedicated to advancing economic prosperity for the City of Denver, its businesses, neighborhoods and residents. Working with a wide variety of community partners, OED operates to create a local environment that stimulates balanced growth through job creation, business assistance, housing options, neighborhood redevelopment and the development of a skilled workforce.   ###