Silicon Valley Boomer Business Plan Competition draws innovative companies targeting the 40+ marketplace.
Santa Clara, CA (PRWeb) March 22, 2007 -- Enormous business opportunities are being created around the world as countries grow older. In the United States alone, baby boomers now spend more than $2 trillion per year on goods and services, driven by the lifestage transitions they're making in areas such as housing, health, fitness, fashion, finance, romance, travel and family.
Opportunities for service and profit are also expanding throughout Europe and Japan, where populations are aging rapidly, as well as in fast-developing countries like China and India, where mature consumers comprise a burgeoning market segment.
Recognizing these opportunities, entrepreneurs around the globe are developing products and services geared for consumers age 40 and up.
The 2007 Silicon Valley Boomer Business Plan Competition attracts new ventures from entrepreneurs, early-stage companies and college students around the world. The Competition is co-produced by Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business and Mary Furlong & Associates.
Last year's Competition drew more than 70 business plans, from as far away as New Zealand and the Philippines, targeting a range of industries poised for significant growth as the population ages, including medicine, technology, fashion and financial services. Plans submitted last year included treatments for glaucoma and sleep apnea, brain stimulation games, sexy sleepwear for mature women and services that help retirees buy property in Latin America.
"We are constantly in a talent race, trying to identify entrepreneurs with great business ideas," explains Michael Goldberg, a partner at Mohr, Davidow Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture firm that invests in innovative early-stage businesses. "The Boomer Business Plan Competition is a great place to find entrepreneurs who have a vision and an idea to solve a problem around an enormous market."
Those interested in entering the 2007 Boomer Business Plan Competition have until April 20 to register as contestants. For more information about the Competition, please visit
www.boomerventuresummit.com/competition.
All contestants will have their plans reviewed by top Silicon Valley venture capitalists and boomer market experts. Twenty semifinalists will be selected and announced on April 28. Five finalists will then be chosen in each of two categories -- Health and General.
A panel of judges will review the finalist plans and choose two $10,000 grand prize winners at the 2007 Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit, which takes place on June 19 at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. For more information about the Summit, please visit
www.boomerventuresummit.com.
This year's panel of finalist judges includes Charles (Chip) F. Baird, Jr., Managing Partner, North Castle Partners; Jody Holtzman, Director of Strategic Analysis, AARP; James L. Koch, Executive Director of the Center for Science, Technology & Society and Professor of Management, Santa Clara University; Aileen Lee, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers; Ilya Oshman, VP, General Manager, Pfizer Strategic Investments Group; Emilio Pardo, Chief Brand Officer, AARP; Bijan Salehizadeh, MD, Partner, Highland Capital Partners; Robert Stein, President & CEO, American Society on Aging; Brad Vale, Ph.D., VP, Johnson & Johnson Development Corporation; Vance Vanier, MD, Partner, Mohr Davidow Ventures. Screening judges include Robert Stein, President & CEO, American Society on Aging and Sandra Timmerman, Assistant VP and Director, MetLife Mature Market Institute.
About the co-producers
Founded in 1926, the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University was one of the first business schools in the country to receive national accreditation. Its undergraduate business program was recently acknowledged among the best across the U.S., and its MBA and Executive MBA programs are ranked 12th and 21st, respectively, in the nation among graduate business programs. More than 80 percent of its 1,100 MBA students are working professionals in Silicon Valley. More information is available at
www.scu.edu/business.
Founded in 2003, Mary Furlong & Associates (MFA) is a proven team of business innovators, comprised of talent from marketing, editorial, business, online content and community. Mary Furlong, Ed.D., the firm's founder and CEO, has guided the offline and online 40+ market strategies of leading corporations and nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years. Furlong is Dean's Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship at Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business, and previously founded SeniorNet and ThirdAge Media. Her latest book, "Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace," was published in February 2007. More information is available at
www.maryfurlong.com.
Press Contact:
John Doxey
Mary Furlong & Associates
Ph: 415.290.2050
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Phone: 415-290-2050
Website: www.boomerventuresummit.com/competition
Press Release Source: EMediaWire
