AUSTIN, Texas—Idyll Life, the winning team in the 2005 Global MOOT CORP Competition, will open the NASDAQ Stock Market on Friday, Aug. 19. The team, which hails from Thammasat University in Thailand, will be joined by Gary Cadenhead, director of the MOOT CORP Program at The University of Texas at Austin, and his successor, Rob Adams.
With their MOOT CORP victory in May 2005, Idyll Life won more than $180,000 in prizes, including:
- The opportunity to negotiate a $100,000 investment from the MOOT CORP Pontoon Fund.
- Software, training and consulting from the Microsoft Technology Center.
- Office space and other services for one year from the Austin Technology Incubator Launch Package.
- Prosecution of the first American patent.
Idyll Life won the Global MOOT CORP Competition with its natural sweetener, which is 300 times sweeter than sugar. Idyll Life has exclusive rights to the patented stevia seeds. Stevia sweetener is the only natural high-intensity sweetener in the world market and has been used extensively in the Asian region for more than 30 years. The company has U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and is ready to introduce Pure Lite, its first sweetener product. They are seeking funding to establish its first commercial plant in Thailand.
“Our experience has been that winning the Global MOOT CORP Competition is of major assistance in fund-raising to the winner,” Cadenhead said. “The $100,000 bridge financing provides the winner with some running time to get additional funding.”
This year 40 teams from universities in 10 countries competed in the business plan competition. Panels of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, attorneys, CEOs and accountants judged the teams. About half of each year’s teams launch their ventures after the competition.
View the ceremony on the NASDAQ Market Open Web Cam (all times are E.D.T.). Viewers must have Windows Media Player to view the Web Cam. Scroll to the bottom of the page under the heading “MarketSite Live Web Cam” and click on Windows Media Player. Download the Web Cam at 9:15 a.m. to provide time to troubleshoot in case of technical difficulties.
Before 9:20 a.m., the Web Cam will show the Tower. At 9:20 a.m., the router will switch and the Web Cam will telecast views inside the studio. CNBC, Bloomberg, CNNfn, Bloomberg Brazil, CNN and the FoxNews television networks will broadcast the open at about 9:28 a.m., E.D.T.
Begun at The University of Texas at Austin by MBA students in 1984, the MOOT CORP Competition is the oldest and largest new venture competition in the world. It provides MBA student teams with a chance to simulate the real-world process of raising venture capital. Visit the MOOT CORP Competition Web site for more information, including a list of worldwide ventures that have developed from the contest.
For more information contact: Gary Cadenhead, 512-471-5289; Rob Adams, 512-633-5955; or Ann Whitt, 512-232-6597.
