Adult Entrepreneurs vie for prizes

PUEBLO – Student and adult entrepreneurs will vie for prizes this weekend as part of the  fourth annual entrepreneurship competition formerly known as the Pueblo Entrepreneurship Competition. The event has a new name, the SOCO Entrepreneurship Competition, but has kept the same idea of inspiring and developing new entrepreneurs in the Pueblo community. Coordinated by Colorado State University – Pueblo’s Hasan School of Business Healy Center, Junior Achievement, and supported by local sponsors such as Bank of the San Juans and Little Caesars, this competition gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to change an idea into reality.

The student competition will be held on Friday, April 14 in Hoag Recital Hall on the CSU-Pueblo campus, with the adult competition on Saturday, April 15 at the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center, 210 North Santa Fe Avenue. This year’s competitions will see Diana Hall, a winner from the 2013 Adult competition, as the featured speaker for the adult competition beginning at 6:45 p.m. on April 15. Entrepreneurs Jake Jabbs and Mike Zavislan will speak at the student competition at 4:30 p.m. on April 14. The event features local celebrities and business leaders as judges and emcees for each competition.

The SOCO Entrepreneurship Competition is a collaborative, non-profit, all fun competition that seeks to encourage entrepreneurs from Southern Colorado to take advantage of Pueblo’s economic potential. Students in grades three through 12 have the chance to compete for a $4,000 scholarship to CSU-Pueblo’s Hasan School of Business as well as other scholarships offered by Pueblo Community College. Adults have the opportunity to present in front of Venture Capitalists who make offers based off of the potential they see in the proposed company. Prizes will be offered in multiple categories, and each contestant has the opportunity to compete for possible venture capital seed money.  Last year’s competition saw one competitor receive an offer for $50,000 from one of the Venture Capitalists.

For more information, contact Mike Wakefield in the Healy Center at 719-549-2933 or at Michael.wakefield@csupueblo.edu

Colorado State University-Pueblo is committed to excellence, setting the standard for regional comprehensive universities in teaching, research, and service by providing leadership and access for its region, while maintaining its commitment to diversity.

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