Congratulations to Wild! Montana- winner of the 2002 University of Montana Business Plan Competition

Wild! Montana rose to the head of the pack of business plans presented by students from all of Montana’s universities, colleges, junior colleges, tribal colleges and colleges of technology Thursday evening at the University of Montana Gallagher School of Business.

Their success was the culmination of a screening process and all day presentations and evaluations conducted by a stellar panel of judges. Finalists gave their presentations to a packed house of Montana business leaders and students.

Wild!Montana- UM Missoula- Chris Colberg, Tony McMullan, Marcus Kosena

Wild!Montana is a local restaurant that will provide a unique dining experience by capturing the essence of Montana through its cuisine and atmosphere. Wild!Montana will offer its customers food and beverages from Montana-based companies, and create an authentic connection to Montana for residents and visiting consumers.

The other finalists for the competition were:

2nd Place- niftyTRICKS Media- UM Missoula- Mario Schulzke, Jesse Lakes, Joseph Hettinger, Steven Marlenee, Mike Chickos

niftyTRICKS Media is a vertical Internet portal based on extreme sports. niftyTRICKS Media will offer athletes and enthusiasts allover the world a thorough database of extreme sports tricks and techniques, portrayed through video clips and media.

3rd Place- Simply My Size- MSU Bozeman- Katja Alajarvi, Benjamin Ganser, Peter Stiller

Simply my size will sell services and products to clothing manufacturers and retailers to enable them to produce mass-customized clothing. Customer measurements will permanently be stored in an extensive Simply My Size database, which can be accessed by retailers and manufacturers who want to create customized clothing for their customers.

4th Place- Montana Heli- UM Missoula- Ashli Washburn, Chisato Okazaki, Garth Towne

Montana Heli is a skiing service specializing in airlifting skiers and snowboarders into the backcountry of the Whitefish Range in the Flathead National Forest. Montana Heli will also offer a guide and outfitter service.

Other Finalists were: 3SE, Tailwalking, Blackfoot Printing, Russell Shredding Service, The Lexi Company, Pro Communications, Rocky Mountain Data Storage.

The purpose of the Montana Business Plan Competition is to encourage and support students who have business ideas and want to turn them into successful companies. Many ventures proposed in the Competition are now functional businesses. In fact, one of the m is now a several hundred million dollar operation. A student affiliated with Montana Power Company wrote a business plan for what is now an operating coal conversion process. Many smaller businesses, including restaurants, a brewpub, an electronics manufacturer, a tent producer, a Jeep conversion firm and others have grown out of the Competition.

In recent years, business schools across the nation have begun to place more emphasis on entrepreneurship education. The University of Montana views its entrepreneurship programs as vital components of the Business School’s mission emphasizing experiential learning.

The Competition is privileged to have generous sponsors, without whom this event would not be possible. It owes a great deal of gratitude to many people and businesses, but several people have been especially instrumental since the inception of the Competition. Ken Thuerbach, CEO of Alpine Log Homes, helped establish the Competition and has been a tremendous supporter form the beginning. Business School Dean Larry Gianchetta was also a "founding father" , and along with UM President George Dennison, has provided resources and support since its inception. Entrepreneurship professors Jack Reece and Rick Wishcamper organized the event this year. Peter Christian was the MC -a well known local radio personality and announcer for the MT Grizzly games.
The Student Manager who organized, planned and coordinated the event was Cassi Pfister.

Judges this year included: Sheila Buchanan, Britt Fred, Dave Gibson, Liz Harris, Steve Hunnington, Thad Huse, Leslie Jensen, Jon Marchi, Jim Seel, Tom Swenson, Judy Wagner.

Sponsored by: UM Foundation- Excellence Fund, UM School of Business Administration, The Mariana Scholarship, Small Business Institute, Bank Consortium: First Security Bank, US Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Mountain West Bank

NorthWestern Energy, Ribi Corporation, Artcraft Printers, D. A. Davidson

Alpine Log Homes, Montana Ambassadors, Glacier Venture Fund, Bitterroot Motors, Langel & Associates, Missoula Rotary club, Safe Shop Tools, SG Long & Company

The Montana Business Plan Competition is dedicated to students and their creative ideas. The entire evening is organized by a group of students at the University of Montana.

Congratulations to all who participated in this vital aspect of successful economic development in Montana.