BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
Previous Results
2010 Competition Results
May 21st, Boston, MA
2010 Grand Prize Winner
Silicon Solar Solutions LLC. from the University of Arkansas, USA
University of Arkansas’ Silicone Solar Solutions team won the LES Foundation 2010 International Graduate Student Business Plan Competition. The team received $10,000 and valuable in-kind prizes for their plan to bring higher-efficiency, lower-cost solar power to the world through the commercialization of a patented materials process for creating large grain polysilicon.
- Press Release
- View Video of Elevator Pitch on YouTube
- Silicon Solar Solutions Featured on Forbes and CNBC
2010 Global Award Recipient
Encase™ Bushfire Shelters from Swinburne University, Australia
As part of the LES Foundation Competition, Swinburne University of Technology won its third consecutive $5,000 Global Award from the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI). This year’s winning team was recognized for Encase™ Bushfire Shelters, a company that will offer a new and unique series of free-standing shelters.
Runner-up Teams:
- CADIA Technologies from University of Pennsylvania (USA)
- CamGaN from University of Cambridge (United Kingdom)
- Green Jelly from Duke University (USA)
2009 Competition Results
May 5th in Montreal, Canada
Grand Prize Winner
Pax Neuroscience, Inc. from University of Illinois at Chicago, USA
A team of graduate students from the University of Illinois Chicago Liautaud Graduate School of Business (UIC) captured first place in the 2009 LES Foundation International Graduate Student Business Plan Competition for their plan to improve treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD).
Read More…
LESI Global Award Recipient
Poppet International Pty Ltd. from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia
Graduate students from Swinburne University of Technology (Australia) received the Licensing Executives Society International's (LESI) prestigious Global Award for their plan to bring safe, ready-to-drink infant beverages to the globe using a revolutionary packaging system. The Global award recognizes the teams whose business plan best dealt with IP rights and their use in the global business environment. Read More…
Runner-up Teams:
- CounselLink from Swinburne University of Technology (Australia)
- GroundUp Solutions from University of Arkansas (USA)
- PassPro-tech from University of Texas at Dallas (USA)
2008 Competition Results
May 5th in Chicago, IL, USA
Grand Prize Winner
MicroTransponder, Inc. from University of Texas at Dallas (USA)
The winner of the 2008 LES Foundation Graduate Student Business Plan Competition was the University of Texas at Dallas for MicroTransponder, Inc., a wireless neuroprosthetics company looking to develop medical devices to repair the nervous system. Read More...
- View Video of Interview
- Read the article in Viewpoints August 2008
LESI Global Award Recipient
EcoRegen from Swinburne University of Technology (Australia)
Graduate Students from Swinburne University of Technology, Australia, received the Licensing Executives Society International (LESI) Global Award for their business plan to regenerate organic waste into renewable resources and organic products. The Global award recognizes the teams whose business plan best dealt with IP rights and their use in the global business environment. Read More...
Runner-up Teams:
- BioRegenix from University of Illinois at Chicago (USA)
- ESMo Technologies from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
- NanoGreen, Inc. from University of Hawaii (USA)
- SeriesTech from Lund University (Sweden)
- 3rd Rock Sunblock, Inc. from Duke University (USA)
2007 Competition Results
May 16th in Atlanta, GA, USA
Winner
Optimal Vision Corporation from University of Illinois at Chicago (USA)
Just in time to catch baby boomers reaching for their first set of reading glasses, graduate students from the University of Illinois, Chicago’s Liautaud School of Business took first prize in the 2007 Licensing Foundation Graduate Student Business Plan Competition for their plan to introduce a newly patented procedure to correct presbyopia, an age associated loss of near vision. Read More…
- Read the article in Viewpoints August 2007
Runner-up Teams
- Flow Diagnostics from University of Illinois at Chicago (USA)
- La Wahie from University of Hawaii (USA)
2006 Competition Results
May 10th in Philadelphia, PA, USA
Winner
SanoGene Therapeutics, Inc., from University of Illinois at Chicago (USA)
Two graduate students from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) took first prize in the 2006 LES Foundation Graduate Student Business Plan Competition (previously known as the Edwin A. Shallaway Graduate Student Licensing Competition) for their plan to develop groundbreaking cancer therapies using new therapeutic siRNAs (interfering pieces of RNA) that prevent tumor growth and invasion and induce cancer cell death. Read More…
Runner-up Teams
- Audio Fusion from Wake Forest University (USA)
- BioDollars from Duke University (USA)
- Cardinal Medicell from Stanford University (USA)
2005 Competition Results
February 9th in Denver, CO, USA)
Winner
MedGen from Stanford University
Graduate students from Stanford University won the LES Foundation’s 2005 Graduate Student Business Plan Competition for their company Med Gen and their plan to offer a new minimally invasive medical technology for cerebral aneurisms.
Runner-up Teams
- Ethyl Acetate Manufacturing Facility from University of Alberta (Canada)
- Cognitive Orthotics from Franklin Pierce Law Center (USA)
2004 Competition Results
February 11th in San Francisco, CA, USA
Winner
Tangam Gaming Technology, Inc., from University of Waterloo
A team of graduate students from University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, won the 2004 LES Foundation Graduate Student Business Plan Competition for their company Tangam Gaming Technology which will introduce an automated system for monitoring gaming tables. The team predicts their system could save casino operators millions of dollars in decreased operating expenses and reduced fraud.
Runner-up Teams
- NetDog from University of Colorado (USA)
- Authorized Bootlegs from Franklin Pierce Law Center (USA)

