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Haas Entrepreneurs Take Second in the 6th Annual
Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge



Magoosh, founded by Haas 2010 graduates Bhavin Parikh, Hansoo Lee, and Pejman Pour-Moezzi, came in second place Thursday, November 18, 2010, in the 6th Annual
Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge. They competed against 26 other teams from 19 countries to win the $10,000 second prize. Magoosh gives aspiring graduate school students a more affordable, convenient, and effective way to prep for the GMAT, GRE, and LSAT.


Magoosh
     
Hansoo Lee Bhavin Parikh Pejman Pour-Moezzi
Hansoo Lee Bhavin Parikh Pejman Pour-Moezzi

The founders spent the spring semester of their first year at Haas refining the Magoosh business model in Dave Charron’s “Workshop for Startups” class.  The guidance and feedback offered by both Charron and their classmates propelled the Magoosh team to launch their beta site in the summer of 2009.  During their second year, the team leveraged the Lester Center Startup Board of Mentors to further expand Magoosh’s offering and reach.  The team went on to win the Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology Venture Lab prize and has benefited from the inter-disciplinary strength of UC Berkeley in working with students and faculty from not only Haas, but also Boalt, the School of Education, and the School of Engineering. 

Magoosh


OsComp Systems of Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra in the Dominican Republic took first place in the challenge, which seeks to support and promote entrepreneurship globally. The team of entrepreneurs won $25,000 from the Intel Foundation for inventing a breakthrough, patent-pending technology that could reduce operating and capital costs for natural gas compression by more than 30 percent.

The $5,000 third-place prize went to ADTELLIGENCE of the University of Mannheim in Germany for its advertising targeting platform for the social web.

The IBTEC 2010 People’s Choice Award Winner was Bio-Oil from Tsinghua University in China, who aims to promote an alternative energy source while reducing pressure on the environment by producing biodiesel using various kinds of waste oil as raw materials.  Almost 100,000 votes were logged in at www.inspiredbyeduation.com during the People’s Choice Award online voting process that took place after the Challenge, from November 18 to December 6.  Team Bio-Oil received 44% of the vote, with special mention to the 2nd and 3rd place runners up, Brizz TV from India, who received 31% of the vote, and Roca K.K. from Japan with 14%.

Founded in 2005, the Intel+UC Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge is a joint project of the Intel Foundation and the UC Berkeley Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The challenge is designed to motivate young entrepreneurs to develop innovative technologies that solve real world challenges, build viable business models, and move that technology out of university labs and into the market. 

“The 27 teams in this challenge represent the best of the best from 60 participating countries," notes Andre Marquis, the Lester Center's executive director. "Through Intel's generous support, we've been able to bring them together at Berkeley-Haas to connect to each other and to world-class experts around the important mission of driving lasting change through entrepreneurship."

Wendy Hawkins, executive director of the Intel Foundation, adds: "By helping these ideas grow, we are fostering students, such as those present at this competition, to have a positive impact on society, which will in turn help strengthen the future global economy."

Representatives of more than 20 leading venture capital firms from the Bay Area served as judges of the competition and provided valuable feedback to the teams. 

In addition to the awards ceremony, Intel launched an online People's Choice Awards Contest for the public to vote for their favorite team of young entrepreneurs who participated in this week’s competition. Voting will end on December 6th, 2010, at 12:00 pm EST. Visit inspiredbyeducation.com/vote to learn more and vote.




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