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Tech’s Young Turks Are Back – University Business Plan Competitions Pave the Way

As Internet companies and the economy in general rebound, so has the college-age entrepreneur — but it’s a tougher road today

Matt Pauker and Rishi Kacker graduated from high school in 1999 and had their sights set on one place: Stanford University. The Internet bubble was in full swing. Startups dotted the Stanford campus, while venture capitalists threw millions at anyone with a new Internet idea. And Pauker and Kacker were ready to dive into the action.
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Only problem: They were a few years too late. Soon after they started school, the bubble burst, and Silicon Valley VCs reverted to safe companies with defensible technology. More damning for the young Turks, the VCs wanted gray hairs, or so-called serial entrepreneurs who had run companies before and delivered solid returns.

TAKE NOTICE. But like other would-be startup artists on campuses around the country, the two Stanford engineering students managed to find a way, and their company, Voltage Securities, now boasts 75 employees, 130 business customers, and big-name investors.

As Internet companies and the economy in general have come back to life, so has the college-age entrepreneur. And while the bar is higher than it might have been in the bubble, investors are again starting to take notice of the good ones, like Pauker and Kacker.

Without having ever held down a real job – not even paper routes – the two entered the Voltage idea in a Stanford business plan competition. One of the judges, Ken Gullicksen of Morgenthaler Ventures, wrote on their form: "Come and meet with me as soon as possible." They won the competition, and Gullicksen and others provided funding.

Full Story: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/oct2005/tc20051025_114996.htm

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