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Sixth Annual Five Ventures Competition Underway

Charlotte Research Institute to Host $100,000 Annual Five Ventures Business Plan Competition and Conference, April 12 – Bernhardt Student Activities Center, UNC Charlotte Campus
2007 Five Ventures

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Five Ventures has announced the launch of the sixth annual business plan competition and conference. Local entrepreneurs throughout the Charlotte region have submitted business plans in order to compete for over $100,000 in cash and in-kind services. “The Five Ventures Business Plan Competition and Conference serves as the catalyst program linking the business, technology, academic and entrepreneurial communities within the Charlotte region, said Dr. Robert Wilhelm, Executive Director of the Charlotte Research Institute, “local entrepreneurs have an excellent opportunity to gain the mentorship, guidance, cash and the services necessary to build their dream businesses.”

On March 21, 2007, ten entrepreneurs will present their business plans to over 25 local judges at the Charlotte Research Institute. Judges include high-level executives from leading law firms, marketing firms, venture capital firms, financial analysts, academics and successful entrepreneurs. The top five scores become Five Ventures finalists, and will then present their business concepts live at the Five Ventures Summit on April 12th at the Barnhardt Student Activity Center on the UNC Charlotte Campus. In total, over 750 hours are donated to the Five Ventures competition from local service providers, professionals, coaches, judges and mentors. “Five Ventures takes great pride in the number of local businesses and non-profits who support this program,” said Claude Lilly, Dean, Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte, “the quality of the services and the overall time donated is simply amazing.”

2007 Five Ventures Teams to Present on March 21st:

Accunetix: Created an affordable, highly sensitive molecular diagnostic technology that is relevant for a wide range of healthcare applications including testing for infectious diseases (HIV, HCV, HBV, TB, malaria) and cancer.

Acphazin: A biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutic products for treating cancer and other diseases.

Advanced Access: Developer of the “ParkIT” – a fully customizable system that integrates the latest in wireless, video and IT technologies to help manage parking flow where space is limited.

A-Metrics LLC: Developed a new sensor technology that utilizes a patented method to track slight changes in pressure, temperature, humidity and the ability to record vibration frequencies in the sonar, seismic, and vocal ranges. Current applications include a more reliable detection of breast cancer, increased sensitivity of sonar devices, voice recognition and corrosive pipelines.

HepatoSys Inc.: HepatoSys Inc restores the function of donor livers for use in transplantation and evaluates the integrity of donor livers prior to initiation of the recipient operation.

Kiyatec: Reduces the time and cost associated with pre-clinical drug discovery by developing and commercializing diagnostics that improve the correlation between lab-based results and clinical patient response.

M7 Studios LLC: Focused on the design, development, validation, and production of affordable automotive safety technology. M7 Studios technology aims to reduce collisions by enabling detection of imminent collisions electronically, and to warn the driver in time to avert a crash.

Pic-It: Is an independent stand alone public-operated photograph system that allows individuals to take a high quality “group photos” of their party at scenic locations.

SellItAtSchool: SellItAtSchool.com is a website that empowers students, faculty and staff to resell supplies such as textbooks, study guides and equipment.

TMS Laboratory, LLC (dba Blue Ocean Foods): Has created a new high-quality great-tasting bread product that eliminates unhealthy fructose, sweeteners, saturated fats and high salt content.

Sponsors of the 2007 Five Ventures Business Plan Competition and Conference include: Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte; Charlotte Research Institute; Office of Technology Transfer at UNC Charlotte; Castle & Cooke, Inc.; Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice; Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson; Hammer & Hanf, PC; Duke Energy; City of Charlotte Economic Development; Carolinas Healthcare System; Fisher Family Foundation; Grant Thornton, LLC; The Business Law Advisors; North Carolina Biotechnology Center; Foodman Hunter & Karres, PLLC; Qualcomm; Summa, Allan & Additon, PA; and the SBTDC of North Carolina.

Service Providers of the 2007 Five Ventures Business Plan Competition include: Business Wire; Emerging Strategies PLLC; Business, Innovation and Growth (BIG) Council; Enventys; Frontier Capital LLC; Group H Advisors; Council for Economic Development (CED); McCrory & Company; Peak 10 and Tillman Wright, PLLC

About Five Ventures Conference

Hosted at the Barnhardt Student Activity Center on the campus of UNC Charlotte on April 12, 2007 from 7:30am until 3pm by the Charlotte Research Institute and the UNC Charlotte. Over 250 attendees will attend the program that features some of the nations leading business professionals. In addition to the business leaders forum, the Five Ventures finalists will present their business plans to compete for over $100,000 in cash and in-kind prizes. Registration is $100 until March 26. Students, Faculty and Staff of UNC Charlotte are free to attend but must register. Attendees can register online by visiting the website – http://fiveventures.uncc.edu

About the Charlotte Research Institute

The Charlotte Research Institute is the portal for business-university technology partnerships at UNC Charlotte. Building on the internationally known results of its research centers in Precision Metrology, eBusiness Technology, and Optoelectronics, the CRI supports new research ventures, university partnerships with regional and national enterprises, and spin-off companies created from UNC Charlotte research results. Newer research ventures at CRI include Bioinformatics, Life Sciences and Biomedical Engineering Systems. http://www.CharlotteResearchInstitute.org

About UNC Charlotte

A doctoral/research intensive university, UNC Charlotte celebrated its 60th anniversary in September 2006. It is the fourth-largest of the 17-constituent University of North Carolina system and the largest institution of higher education in the Charlotte region. The university comprises seven professional colleges and currently offers 17 doctoral programs, 59 master’s degree programs and 85 programs leading to bachelor’s degrees. Enrollment exceeds 21,500 students, including more than 4,400 graduate students. http://www.uncc.edu