EAST LANSING ? Kinetic Wave Power, which harnesses the power of ocean waves to generate electricity, was named the grand prize winner Thursday night at the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest spring 2009 business-plan competition. Kinetic Wave Power won $25,000.

Kinetic Wave Power won the Emerging Business Category, after best five other finalists in the elevator pitch contest.

But the biggest winner at the awards program was Advanced Battery Concepts, a start-up company developing GreenSeal Bipolar Technology to enable low-cost, large-format, rechargeable batteries that are longer-lasting, more powerful and safer than current alternatives.

Advanced Battery Concepts won:

$5000 as top contender in the New Business Category

$10,000 from NextEnergy for its Alternative Energy Innovation Award

$12,500 from Automation Alley for its Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Award

Other winners include:

Emerging Company Category Runner Up Lambert Technologies, a patented stress testing tool that verifies and validates engineering design of structured components. Lambert Technologies won $5,000.

New Business Idea Category Runner Up RateMyStudentRental, which provides college students with the opportunity to rate their school-year rentals and landlords to attract new tenants. RateMyStudentRental Won $1,000.

Lee Walko, President of Midland-based Walko Consulting, was awarded Coach of the Year for his work with two companies, including the Emerging Company winner Kinetic Wave Power. Marisa Smith, President of Dexter-based The Whole Brain Group, LLC was selected for the Spirit of Entrepreneurship award.

The top six teams competing for the GLEQ Grand Prize pitched their plans to a panel of investment judges made up of Pete Farner, partner at TGap Ventures; Judy Johncox, Senior Director Commercialization Services, Wayne State University; WSU Program Director, TechTown; Elias Shakour, Portfolio Manager, 21st Century Jobs Fund, Michigan Economic Development Corporation; Christopher R. Sklarin, Director of Business Development – Upper Midwest, Chrysalis Ventures; and Phil Tepley, Technology Team Coordinator, Michigan Small Business Technology Development Center.

Presentation scores were added to scores on the companies? written business plans to determine the overall winners. Finalists in addition to the winning companies included Husk Insulation, Hygieia Inc., Blaze Medical Devices and GiftZip.com.

The keynote address was presented by Philip H. Power, Vice Chair of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation Executive Committee, and President and Founder of The Center for Michigan. A “think-and-do tank,” The Center for Michigan aims to help develop and execute comprehensive and long-range policy solutions to transform Michigan’s business, economic, political and cultural climate.

For nearly forty years, Power was founder, owner and chairman of the board of HomeTown Communications Network, Inc., a group of 62 community newspapers and 24 telephone directories throughout Michigan and around Cincinnati, Ohio.

The GLEQ awards event was held in the Main Dining Room of the James B. Henry Center on the MSU campus. The event began with an MIT Enterprise Forum panel discussion on Business Incubators and CEO success stories.

Additional event supporters included Michigan Small Business Technology Development Centers (MI-SBTDC), New Enterprise Forum, and MIT Enterprise Forum.

GLEQ, now in its ninth year of continuous operations, is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) educational program designed to accelerate the formation of high-growth companies in Michigan. More than $31 million has been awarded to GLEQ alumni from the 21st Century Jobs Fund, bringing the total investment into GLEQ companies to more than $60 million.

GLEQ provides coaching, mentoring, business training and entrepreneurial discussions to entrepreneurs statewide. It also sponsors a two-phase statewide business plan competition each year. The competition is structured into two distinct maturity paths; companies with more developed businesses compete in the Emerging Company path, while teams with new business concepts compete in the New Business Idea path.

GLEQ leverages a portfolio of volunteer business and investment experts to provide training, coaching and mentoring. Entrepreneurs submitting an executive summary or business plan receive as many as four written critiques from members of the investor community.

The 2010 GLEQ Business Plan Competition opens for registration on Monday, August 24. Awards will be announced at ACE?10 on Thursday, January 21, 2010.

For additional information, click on GLEQ.Org

For more details, click on GLEQ.Org

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