A. B.

Freeman School of Business

For Immediate Release:

Tulane Entrepreneurs Association’s and The Domain Companies will Award $70,000 in
Top Prizes to Most Viable Ventures Committed to Conscious Capitalism at the 2011
Tulane Business Plan Competition and Domain Companies New Orleans Entrepreneur
Challenge

NEW ORLEANS— April 4, 2011– Three new start-up companies will compete for at least
$50,000 on Friday at the 11th Annual Tulane Business Plan Competition, a international contest
that rewards promising new ventures that aim to make a difference in their communities. The
diverse set of business plans were submitted by teams from 45 universities and 5 countries.

With three rounds of competition, one winner will be chosen to take home a cash prize of
$50,000. The cash prize will provide financial support to progress an entrepreneurial student's
career path. “Yet again, we have been extremely impressed by both the quantity and quality of
the plans submitted in this year’s competition,” said Christopher Williams, TEA’s President, “it
gives us reassurance that the principles of Conscious Capitalism are continuing to spread
throughout the global business community. The plans advancing to the Final Round represent the
best ideas that our generation has to offer, and the Tulane Entrepreneurs Association is proud to
be associated with ventures of this caliber.”

The annual business plan competition is open to students with ideas for ventures that will effect
positive change in communities throughout New Orleans and the world. The competition is
restricted to plans that adhere to the principles of social entrepreneurship and conscious
capitalism, a major focus of TEA and Tulane University.

Three teams were chosen to move onto the final round based their full 30 page business plan:
Drop the Chalk, LLC (Tulane University), OsComp Systems (Massachusetts Institute of
Technology), and Pathostat, LLC (University of Arizona).

TEA has a new partner to its ever-growing competition. The Domain Companies will be
awarding a $20,000 cash prize to the plan that demonstrates the most economic impact in New
Orleans. The final three locally based teams were selected to compete in the final round of the
Domain Companies New Orleans Entrepreneur Challenge: Drop the Chalk, LLC (Tulane
University), Rebirth Financial, Inc. (Tulane University), and Surround Sound Accompaniment
(Tulane University).

The final, live-round competition of the Tulane Business Plan Competition will take place on
April 8, 2011 at Tulane's Uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana and is open to the public.
The final round teams will present to a large audience and a panel of judges who will offer
constructive feedback and ideas for resources, contacts, and connections. Students and
community members are encouraged to attend and learn about entrepreneurship.
The Tulane Council of Entrepreneur's Gala will be held the evening of April 8 at the Audubon
Tea Room, where the winner will be announced. The Gala is by invitation only.

Where:
Goldring/Woldenberg Hall II, A.B. Freeman School of Business
Tulane University, New Orleans, LA

When:
April 8, 2011, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Competition Sponsors:
The Domain Companies
Graduate and Professional Student Association (GAPSA)
Graduate Business Council (GBC)
A.B. Freeman School of Business
Crescent Bank and Trust / Gary Solomon
Tulane Association of Business Alumni (TABA)
LongueVue Capital
The New Orleans BioInnovation Center
NOLAGraphics
Whole Foods Market
Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC
Buquet Distributing
Tulane’s Net Impact Chapter

Final Round Judging Panels:

This year’s final panel represents a wide range of professional backgrounds and will be made up
of the following judges:

2011 Tulane Business Plan Competition

Dr. Sandra Coufal, Novartis Research Foundation
Ms. Kathy Laborde, Gulf Coast Housing Partnership
Mr. Michael LeBourgeois, NGP Energy Technology Partners
Dr. Richard McCline, Southern University Baton Rouge
Mr. Amith Nagarajan, Aptify
Mr. Chris Papamichael, The Domain Companies
Mr. Matt Schwartz, The Domain Companies
Ms. Magatte Wade-Marchand, Adina World Beat Beverages

The Domain Companies New Orleans Entrepreneur Challenge

Mr. Taylor Beery, Beery Advisors, LLC
Dr. Sandra Coufal, Relypsa
Mr. Steven Halperin, Barclays Capital
Mr. Eric Hebel, Three Two Five Media
Mr. Michael Hecht, GNO, Inc.
Mr. Chris Papamichael, The Domain Companies
Mr. Matt Schwartz, The Domain Companies
About the Tulane Business Plan Competition:
The Tulane Business Plan Competition is a $50,000 live-presentation competition held annually
on Tulane’s uptown campus in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event, which is in its 11th year, is
open to all students, both undergraduate and graduate, currently enrolled at an accredited
university or college.

About TEA:
The Tulane Entrepreneurs’ Association (TEA) is a student-run organization, committed to
educating our young people and connecting them with the local entrepreneurial network. By
inspiring innovation and teaching our members how to construct profitable business models, we
strive to enhance regional economic growth and positively impact society as a whole.
TEA attempts to achieve these goals by finding new and creative ways to add value to its
members’ experience by: hosting a distinguished speaker series, conducting business plan
workshops, hosting entrepreneurial classes, organizing social networking events, and
coordinating the annual Tulane Business Plan Competition. The competition is just one of the
many reasons that Tulane was recently ranked 13th in the nation in Graduate Entrepreneurship
Education by the Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine, an accolade that brings our
organization great pride.

Contact:

www.tea.tulane.edu

Christopher Williams
President, Tulane Entrepreneurs Association
Cwilli5@tulane.edu or 504-520-0457

Ruth Yomtoubian
Vice President of Public Relations, Tulane Entrepreneurs Association
Ryomtoub@tulane.edu or 408-621-5547

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