Would I invest my money in this venture?

The answer is “Yes!” to Brigham Young University’s Altus Poles student start-up venture at the 2010 8th Continent Business Plan Competition. As Grand Champion, Altus Poles walked away with $40,000 in cash, support services, and a flight in zero-gravity and secured a spot in the Global Moot Corp Competition for the potential to win $100,000 in prizes.

Also headed to the Global Moot Corp Competition is the Runner-Up team Green Valley Solar, from the University of Arkansas, and Semi-Finalist team Deli Worm, from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.

Altus Poles serves many industries by providing a new automated manufacturing process for the production of long composite grid poles that are stronger, lighter and cheaper than steel. The design of its composite grid structures achieves an incredibly high strength-to-weight ratio with a special geometry that uses longitudinal and helically-wound members. Application of this technique reaches virtually every structures market, including poles and towers, wind power generation, aerospace and defense, sports, high-rise building construction, and civil infrastructure.

Green Valley Solar, the runner-up in the 2010 8th Continent Business Plan Competition, is the developer of a patented method for creating large grain polysilicon that allows solar power manufacturers to reduce their manufacturing costs by 26%. At the same time, their technology increases the conversion efficiency of silicon-based solar panels by 16%.

Deli Worm is the 2010 8th Continent Business Plan Competition’s entrant in the Global Moot Corp Competition. Their venture addresses a critical environmental problem by providing an exciting alternative to fishmeal as a dietary protein for animals. Their sanitary method of processing housefly worms promises to alleviate the severe overfishing that has already resulted in the over exploitation and depletion of 76% of the world’s fish stocks.

Other semi-finalists teams honored in this year’s competition hail from the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia. The Michigan team, Advanced Battery Control, has invented a high-performance and efficient smart battery management system platform that delivers equivalent vehicle battery functionality at up to 50% the size and 50% the cost of state-of-the-art technology. Nano-Protection, the University of Virginia venture, employs innovative and cost effective carbon nano-tube composite material to shield against hazardous electromagnetic interference experienced in many industries or applications.

Competing university teams from around the world developed their concepts during the 2009 fall semester, and submitted their business plans to a panel of judges with both technical and business expertise. Based on the single criterion “Would I invest my money in this venture?”, the judges selected these 5 semi-finalist teams to compete for the cash prize and additional services. This includes legal assistance from the IP law firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew to help launch their ventures.