License Monitor Team Awarded $20,000 Prize in Gigot Center Business Plan Competition

A venture to provide employers with real-time driver license and vehicle registration information won the second annual McCloskey business plan competition in April. The winning License Monitor team, headed by Joe Watson ('91, MBA '97) and Michael Garvey, received a $20,000 cash prize and mentoring assistance. License Monitor takes a list of employees and constantly checks motor vehicle records. If an employee is given a ticket or has his or her license suspended, the system notifies employers immediately.

More than 100 undergraduate, graduate and alumni teams competed in this year's business plan competition, which is sponsored by Notre Dame's Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Each of the six teams in the final round was given the opportunity to use the University's resources to refine their business plan and perfect their presentation. The teams were exposed to potential investors attending the event, and investors approached many teams with offers of funding. Jim Sinegal, a cofounder of Costco, gave the keynote address.

Other winners in this year's competition included: Jeff Bernel Best Bootstrap Venture and Pace Global "People's Choice" Award for Best Presentation: American Short Track Association (ASTA), a consortium that would help advance the interests of the "minor league" short oval racetracks such as those used by NASCAR. The ASTA venture, submitted by Thomas Kurtz, Nirav Bisarya and Gerald Morgan (all MBA '02), would charge management consulting fees and keep a certain percentage of the sponsorship it generated for individual tracks. The Bernel Best Bootstrap Venture award is for businesses with start-up costs less than $100,000. Best Social Venture Plan: iConnect!, Inc., a project to lessen the "digital divide" by giving computers donated by area businesses to families that do not own a computer.

The McCloskey Business Plan Competition is named in recognition of Tom McCloskey ('68) and his wife, Bonnie, whose gift endowed the event. Corporate sponsors included EaglesNet, IdeaWorks, Jordan Industries, Pace Global and Palo Alto Software.

photo: Arthur Oduma (MBA '03) and Bethanie Carr ('02), winners of the Best Social Venture Plan Competition