Release Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2002

TERRY COLLEGE MBA TEAMS TAKE FIRST AND SECOND PLACE IN GEORGIA BOWL BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

ATHENS, Ga. — Two teams of MBA students from the University of Georgia's Terry College of Business finished first and second out of a field of six teams entered in the 2002 Georgia Bowl Business Plan Competition held February 9 in Athens.

Nutracare of Georgia and Aqua Vitae Enterprises, both made up of Terry College MBAs, topped teams from the University of Louisville, Kennesaw State University, the University of Tennessee and Georgia Tech.

The annual competition pits business plans formulated by the students and their advisers against other new venture ideas. A panel of judges from Georgia's venture capital and financial community determines which plan has the best chance to succeed and turn profitable.

The first-place Nutracare team of Amy Ohde, Brian Pope, Hannah Osborn, Lisa Munson and Joel Shine developed a plan based on marketing and distributing innovative, new nutraceutical products as nutritional supplements with scientifically documented health benefits.

That scientific documentation came from UGA researchers in food sciences and pharmacy, whose research demonstrates the health benefits of the active ingredients in Nutracare's initial product line.

The active ingredient in Nutracare's "Mediterranean Miracle" supplement, for example, is resveratrol, extracted from the seeds of muscadine grapes. Resveratrol is the ingredient in red wine responsible for the so-called "French paradox," the exceptionally low incidence of heart disease and lowered heart cholesterol noted in the French despite their typically high-fat diet.

Finishing second at the Georgia Bowl was Aqua Vitae, helmed by team members Peter King, Nicole Kinser, Brian Jordan, Ian Conradie and Aaron Stallfus. Aqua Vitae plans to market and distribute a patented drug developed by UGA researchers that temporarily boosts the immune systems of fish, lowering mortality rates among ornamental fish being shipped to market.

Aqua Vitae had defeated the Nutracare team in a Terry College intramural competition at the conclusion of fall semester. Management professor Charles Hofer, who advises the Terry College teams, pointed out that the teams continue to develop their business plans and presentations over the entire academic year, and often progress at different rates as the months go by.

"It takes a long period of time to pull everything together," said Hofer, the Regents Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Terry College. "In one sense, the judges are judging what you've completed. A project can change significantly over time."

As the Georgia Bowl winner, Nutracare will receive invitations to participate in both the infoUSA Graduate Business Plan Competition at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the international MOOT CORP competition at the University of Texas later this spring.

The Georgia Bowl is the nation's oldest regional business plan competition, founded by Hofer 10 years ago. Originally, only teams representing MBA programs in the state of Georgia were invited to compete, but the contest has expanded to include teams from universities throughout the Southeast.

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