University Business Plan Competitions

This year’s Finalists and their inventions provide a glimpse into the future of American innovation and emerging technological trends — from a harp-inspired water harvester to a steerable microcatheter.

Azzarelli, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from MSU in 2010, shared the $100,000 grand prize at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s 27th annual Entrepreneurship Competition with his teammates, three Harvard University students.

The Business Startup Challenge is Montana’s premiere opportunity for students attending any college or university across Montana to present exciting new businesses and/or social entrepreneurship venture ideas for adjudication… and win big money!!!

Graduate student Chad Miller, who is working toward a master’s degree in business administration, won the $1,500 overall prize for his presentation on Purus, an engineering support operations management firm which bridges the technology and marketing gaps between oil and gas service companies and their customers.

Teams should propose innovative STEM-based solutions for real world problems within one of the five themes: big data; infrastructure security; sustainability; broadening participation in STEM; and, improving STEM education.

The latest $75,000 win comes from International Business Model Competition hosted by Brigham Young University, which drew more than 2,500 teams from 200 schools around the world.

Students from across the state will showcase their entrepreneurial aspirations during the annual John Ruffatto Business Plan Competition.

"Every single student that I engaged was passionate about his or her ideas. Each one of the business plans and concepts can work — and many of them will — which will produce meaningful products, jobs and money."

Get an inside look at the 24th annual John Ruffatto Business Plan Competition at the University of Montana. Students from all of Montana’s higher education institutions are invited to compete for a $10,000 grand prize.