Previous Winners
2009-2010
McCloskey – Weekend Student Adventures (WSA) Europe
Weekend Student Adventures is a multi-phased, multi-faceted business approach that will cater to the American college student studying abroad by offering guided destination weekend and week-long packages that feature the optimal balance of serious sightseeing and enjoyable social networking opportunities. WSA will develop a parallel physical and online presence to successfully reach the target market, and create a thriving and dynamic budget travel community and numerous cash flow streams. WSA will seek to partner with stateside universities to reach students long before the competition can. WSA will be structured from the beginning so as to take advantage of its extremely scalable nature.
Social – Morph and Thro
Morph & Thro is an American eco-active wear company created by professional athletes for the modern active person. We promote individual, social, and environmental sustainability through fitness apparel. Morph & Thro's garments are domestically made from 100% recycled plastic (PET) bottles that have been "up-cycled" into durable and comfortable recycled polyester.
2008-2009
McCloskey – modMarket
modMarket is striving to become the next evolution in fast-casual dining. By targeting a younger demographic while focusing on customer experience, sustainability, technology, and real foods, the modMarket brand will become synonymous with eating well on the go. By identifying the successful elements of various companies and creating a brand around the best characteristics, founders Rob McColgan and Anthony Pigliacampo look to take advantage of the major cultural and demographic shifts occurring right now in the U.S. They bring years of experience in restaurant consulting, brand and experience design, and finance to the venture that will launch in Spring 2009.
Social – SHE: Sustainable Health Enterprises
SHE aims to unleash girls' and women's potential by starting up female-run franchises that manufacture and distribute low priced, high-quality, and environmentally friendly sanitary pads. Currently, girls and women in developing countries miss school and/or work—up to 50 days per year—because they do not have access to affordable product, thereby thwarting their educational and economic potential. SHE, initiated by a Notre Dame and Harvard Business School graduate, will satisfy this significant need with a sustainable, market-based approach utilizing local, inexpensive raw materials.
2007-2008
McCloskey – RFware
RFware has developed technology that makes possible a new generation of electronic communication devices that can be adapted to almost any current and future wireless protocol with a simple software upgrade. Such technology will immediately benefit the armed forces as well as local police, fire, and emergency management departments, which have all struggled for decades with incompatible communication devices. RFware was founded by the same people that pioneered the technology at the University of Notre Dame, and the team's mixture of technical and business expertise will ensure a quick and profitable commercialization.
Social – MedXcycle
MedXcycle will be part of a sustainable solution to the worldwide healthcare crisis. By selling medical supplies and equipment for pennies on the dollar, MedXcycle will make healthcare accessible to millions of people. Self-sustaining profitability will allow it to operate without relying on charitable donations; conversely, it will contribute a portion of its revenue back to the local community.
2006-2007
McCloskey – SolarShade
SolarShade is a significant innovation following recent advances in window technology, resulting in an aftermarket window treatment that can transform nearly any window into a "Smart" window. Initial application areas for SolarShade with measurable advantages include the recreational vehicle industry, as well as residential and commercial buildings. The management team of SolarShade brings together a blend of engineering expertise with seasoned business acumen and experience.
Social – PorFin, Nuestra Casa
El Paso/Juarez is the world's largest and fastest growing border community with over 2 million residents. Post NAFTA maquiladoras jobs attract 65,000 migrants to Juarez each year, making annual growth greater than that of Las Vegas or Phoenix. This boom has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Mexicans living in squalor in shelters constructed of wooden pallets or boxes that are tied together. PFNC consults with international corporations that have a presence in Juarez. We build affordable housing constructed from used shipping/trucking containers that provide Mexican workers the opportunity to own their homes in safe parks, for under $55 US per month.
2005-2006
McCloskey – NatureCare
NatureCare seeks to capture a significant portion of the estimated 5.1 billion dollar lawn and garden services market. We have developed a proprietary organic lawn care line adapted from a very successful agricultural product and intend to leverage the strength of that line by employing a door-to-door sales and business model that has generated in excess of 20,000 new accounts per sales season in similar companies. We have assembled a focused and experienced team to execute our plan and establish our company and brand as THE organic solution for your lawn care needs.
Social – Pepy Tours
PEPY Tours is a travel agency that specializes in volunteer and adventure tourism in developing countries and disaster relief areas. PEPY provides travel arrangements and tour programs which focus on volunteer activities in association with their partner
NGO, The PEPY Ride. PEPY Tours creates a sustainable and growing source of funding for The PEPY Ride organization's expanding educational endeavors by bringing a unique experience to the socially-minded traveler.
2004-2005
McCloskey – Licketyship
Licketyship connects online shoppers with localized retailers through a searchable website that allows for same-day courier service. Customers will have the ability to search for products available within a certain zip code. When they purchase an item, LicketyShip covers the distance from store to customer door by employing an existing courier service that allows customers to receive their online purchases on the same day.
Social – Youth Training in Peace Education
The Youth Training in Peace Education is an international, inter-religious and inter-generational organization that aims to empower youth and young adults to take leadership in their own peace education. Our Mission is to create, expand, and sustain a free and youth-oriented website to foster the development of local curriculum worldwide, both formal and informal. Our website will promote inter-religious dialogue and conflict resolution skills that can help young people, especially those involved in religious networks in conflict areas, play a more active role as peace agents wherever they live.
2003-2004
McCloskey – Flash Seats
Flash Seats is a newly-patented system for issuing, transferring and redeeming event tickets electronically. The Flash Seats system will increase a team's revenues and decrease costs while simultaneously providing a powerful new venue for it to interact with its fans. Flash Seats boosts profits, increases sell-out games, decreases no-shows, allows teams to regain control over the lifecycle of an event ticket, improves fan satisfaction and enhances team loyalty. Flash Seats makes ticketing more profitable, efficient, and convenient by bringing electronic ticketing to the sports and entertainment industries. Following the successful model popularized by the airline industry, tickets will be issued electronically and stored in a database. Flash Seats eliminates printing and distribution costs and allows for fewer personnel to be used on game day.
Social – Tech Action
TechAction, founded in Raleigh, NC, will provide the infrastructure to match project-based volunteer teams of skilled technology professionals with local nonprofit organizations needing technical assistance. The North Carolina economy contains thousands of unemployed information technology (IT) professionals needing opportunities to gain a competitive edge in the job market. At the same time, hundreds of nonprofit organizations lack in-house technical expertise to implement needed technology solutions. TechAction's solution gives the IT workers real opportunities to gain experience using newly acquired technical skills while giving the nonprofit organizations technology they may not have otherwise considered or been able to afford.
2002-2003
McCloskey – CN Resource
CN Resource wants to be the first company to take advantage of changes in USDA regulations that now allow outside firms to write menus for school districts across the country. CN Resources will provide three distinct, yet complimentary areas of service:
- Outsourced menu planning for school districts, providing superior menus within guidelines at significantly less cost versus hiring in-house staff
- Audit and assessment support for state agencies that oversee USDA regulation compliance in school districts
- Consulting services and program assistance for school foodservice operations
Social – Campus Community Outreach (Now called Better World Books)
Campus Community Outreach is a for-profit social venture that reaches out to college students' giving side. What better way to deal with your old book than to donate it to a local charity? CCO works with non-profit partners teaching them how to collect thousands of donated books from their local college campuses then takes the books and hauls them to a central warehouse, where they are catalogued, stored and shelved. From there, CCO utilizes available technology to find the highest-paying buyers for these books, and once sold, ships them out. Meanwhile, not-for-profit partners collect unrestricted donation checks from CCO when the books are sold.
2001-2002
McCloskey – License Monitor, Inc.
License Monitor, Inc. (www.licensemonitor.com) is a proactive monitoring service that offers real-time information on employees' driver license activity. Utilizing proprietary software, License Monitor provides its customers immediate notification of any changes to their employees' driver licenses, including license expirations, court convictions (speeding, DWI, etc.), suspensions and revocations.
Social – The Hoosier Connection
An incubator venture that will refurbish used computers and will place them in inner-city homes.
2000-2001
McCloskey – PartScope
PartScope's mission is to make online commerce a visual experience, and establish PartScope technologies as the standard for creation and delivery of interactive images. The PartScope system targets the manufacturing replacement and repair parts market segment. The PartScope software is used to convert a manufacturer's assembly diagrams into a highly visual, Web-based parts ordering system where the user can see the part and click on it to order. Entry risk is low with no up-front costs to the manufacturer. Earnings are based on a percentage of sales generated through the parts ordering Web site. A residual percentage revenue model strongly leverages earnings over time.