Finalists Announced for The Gigabit Challenge Business Plan Competition on the Google Fiber Network

Last week, the 39 Gigabit Challenge Semi-Finalists submitted condensed business plans in order to compete in the second round of judging for the worldwide business plan competition. Now that the panel of judges has analyzed each business plan, The Gigabit Challenge has announced the Finalists who will continue in the pursuit of the $100,000 Grand Prize, the $250,000 “Born Global” Prize and the opportunity to create disruptive innovations on the Google Fiber Network.

The Judging Panel consists of 30 diverse experts from a variety of fields. The panel includes entrepreneurs, investors, service providers, professional association executives, public and private sector officials and community leaders. A full list of judges can be found at http://www.gigabitchallenge.com/about/judges.

All 39 submitted business plans were of extremely high quality. Through a rigorous analysis of business plans, the judges made the difficult decision of narrowing down the top 19. The Gigabit Challenge Finalists are:

Andrew Ying, Hong
Bob Wray, CourthouseUSA LLC
Brett Simpson, record life
David Windhausen, TiBi.tv
Don Peterson, BigIris.com
Eddie Tapper, GET-GIV-GOT System Technologies
Fortunato Cardenas, Green Earth Aerogel Technologies
Jason Arnold, Paruzia Technologies
Jeff Stull, Risk Analytics LLC
Jim West, Somametric
Kristin Kenney, RE:Cite
Marc Canter, Digital City Mechanics
Michael McKinzy Sr., Voter Integrity Party (V.I.P.)
Michael Shear, Strategic Office Networks LLC
S. Vaideeswaran, Damascus Fortune
Samuel Belu-John, SEIN Analytics & Asset Management
Scott Hardiek, Virtual/Real World Wallet System
Seak Meng Lay, Photaic
Sonia Lin, Kauzu

These Finalists are invited to present pitches for their businesses at The Gigabit Challenge Finale on January 18, 2012 at the Kansas City Public Library located on the Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. Finalists will submit a presentation of no more than 15 slides and deliver a ten-minute pitch before a panel of international judges. This will be followed by five minutes of questions from the judges. The Finalists must be present at The Gigabit Challenge Finale to be eligible for a prize.

The Gigabit Challenge Finale is a free event open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis. At the event, attendees will have the chance to watch the final pitch presentations, network and learn more about Google Fiber, ultra-high-speed Internet and entrepreneurship in Kansas City.

“We are very enthusiastic about the response we have received to The Gigabit Challenge from contestants, partners, investors, government officials and many others,” said Scott Mize, who originally proposed The Gigabit Challenge and is a member of the organizing team. “We have also been impressed by the quality of the entries. The judges have chosen these 19 Finalists from a field of 113, which hailed from 22 states and five continents. The Finalists come from around the world including Kansas, Missouri, California, New York, Illinois, Spain and the United Arab Emirates. We are looking forward to a great live pitchfest and awards ceremony at the Finale which can be viewed online from anywhere on the globe.”

For more information about The Gigabit Challenge or to express interest in becoming a partner, please visit http://www.gigabitchallenge.com or contact Ann DeAngelo at 816-842.5244.  

For more information or to register to attend The Gigabit Challenge Finale, please visit http://gigabitchallenge.eventbrite.com/.